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Is Your Nose Getting Closer To Your Chin? Restorative Dentistry Can Help!

Everyone, even your dentist, knows that when we age, we see certain changes in our face (for example, wrinkled skin, less skin tone, shrunken appearance). The soft tissue in the lower one-third of the face is supported by the teeth and jawbone, and gives support to your smile. As we age, we lose support to our smile and we begin to appear older.

Anatomically, the face is divided into thirds: the upper, middle and lower one-third. The space between your nose and your chin is referred to as the lower one-third. The teeth support the vertical height of your lower face, and more specifically the back teeth support your lower face.

Most dentists agree that minimal and gradual wearing away of the top enamel of the teeth is considered normal during the lifespan of a patient. However, excessive wear on the top surfaces of the teeth can result in abscessed teeth, an irregular bite, decreased chewing capacity and esthetic disharmony. Patients with these types of problems often require extensive restorative cosmetic dentistry treatment.

How Common Is Tooth Wear?

Although the prevalence of tooth wear, or attrition, is not known, it is thought to be very common in adults over the age of 40. The wearing of the top surfaces of the teeth is most often attributed to attrition, which is the wearing away of one tooth surface by another tooth surface. Attrition is the result of bruxism, or the involuntary grinding of the teeth against each other.

How Does Attrition Occur?

Attrition can be the result of one or a combination of problems such as:

• Congenital Abnormalities: Hereditary abnormalities can cause the malformation of the surfaces of the teeth. This can result in a thin and/or brittle outer layer of the tooth. This leaves the tooth more susceptible to surface wear and a more rapid attrition of tooth structure.
• Parafunctional Habits: One type of parafunctional habit is bruxism, as explained above. Other habits often associated with attrition include biting on needles, pipe stems, pencils, or finger nails as well as clenching. Many studies have related stress to attrition.
• Abrasion: It is defined as the wearing away of tooth tissue through mechanical processes. The top surfaces of the teeth are abraded away usually by diet, chewing of abrasives such as tobacco and environmental factors such as constant exposure to dust and grit (in farming).
• Erosion: Erosion is the destruction of hard dental tissues by chemical action. Diets high in acidic content like juices, colas and other carbonated drinks are examples of the foods that cause erosion. Patients who suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia are prime examples of erosion due to the high acid nature of stomach acids that are constantly regurgitated into the mouth.

What Is the Result of Worn Teeth?

Depending on the severity of the tooth wear, teeth may be broken, shortened and unattractive. Having worn teeth can result in jaw joint pain (TMJ), a decreased ability to chew and a sunken appearance to the lower face. All of these results can make a person appear more wrinkled and older.

Can Worn Teeth Be Fixed with Fillings?

Generally, the worn teeth will have to have new fillings placed or redone. When severe wear occurs in the mouth, a dental crown or multiple crowns may be the only solution.

Can Tooth Wear Be Prevented?

Yes, tooth wear can be prevented, but only if you make regular visits to the dentist. If detected early enough, your dentist may prescribe a plastic night guard to protect your teeth, much like an athletic mouth guard.

By Benjamin O. Watkins, III, DDS

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

The Artistry Of Tooth Bonding and Dental Crowns

Throughout history, dentists have tried to recreate the function and beauty of natural teeth when tooth structure has been lost. Restoring function used to be the main goal of a dentist because prior to the 1970's, dentistry lacked the proper technology to achieve fine esthetics as well as function. Dentists could only predictably offer patients a restoration that would simply "fill" the empty space. Today, dentistry has more advanced dental materials and newly developed techniques that allow dentists to offer artistically-recreated, natural-looking crowns and modern tooth bonding that would fool even the most critical eye.

Before you can understand how crowns and tooth bonding can mimic teeth you must understand why natural teeth appear as they do.

What Color Are Your Teeth?

It is a common mistake for patients to think that their teeth are all one color. Your teeth are never just one color. They are a series of superimposed translucent layers of varying shades. Teeth also have different surface textures that reflect light in ways that affect the color of your teeth.

Your teeth are made up of three layers: pulp, dentin, and enamel. Each layer has a specific thickness, composition and structure. Additionally, the way light reflects off of or transluces through the layers gives you the color of your teeth. Using knowledge about the three layers of teeth allow dentists and dental technicians to recreate natural-looking dental crowns and tooth bonding.

Who Makes the Crowns?

Dental crown technicians are the true artisans in dentistry. Dentists begin the crown-making process by reducing the size of the tooth, making an impression of the reduced tooth, and selecting the proper shades of the tooth. This information is then transferred to the dental technician so a crown can be made.

Dental technicians blend science with artistic knowledge to recreate natural-looking teeth. Artistically, they use frame and reference, proportion and idealism, perspective and illusion as well as symmetry to mimic nature. Understanding the language of colors and using new dental materials and techniques has allowed the dentist to not only "fill" missing spaces but create cosmetic dentistry artwork from crowns and tooth bonding as well.

By Benjamin O. Watkins, III, DDS

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.