3 Reasons Why You Might Have Dental Abrasion

Your teeth are supposed to last for life; however, they do usually wear down over time. Tooth wear often results in changes to the shape of teeth or to their enamel surface.

Some of this wear may be natural, but some may be down to the way you care for and use your teeth. If you've recently been diagnosed as having problems with dental abrasion, then working out the reasons behind the problem may stop things getting worse.

Where might your dental abrasion come from?

1. Toothbrushing Techniques

While it's important to clean your teeth regularly and efficiently, putting too much effort into brushing can be damaging. For example, if you habitually brush your teeth too hard or use over-abrasive toothpastes, then you may start to abrade away some of the enamel on your teeth.

2. Oral Habits

You should really only use your teeth to eat. If you use them for other things, then you risk damaging them. For example, some oral habits, like nail biting and pen chewing, can damage teeth over time. You may put excess strain on the same places on some teeth. This strain builds up over time. Eventually, the teeth may start to break down. They may lose some enamel, get chipped or crack.

Some hobbies or jobs can also lead to abrasion problems as well as oral habits. For example, if you're a keen sewer, then holding pins between your teeth or biting off threads may not be good for your teeth over time. Your teeth may chip in notches.

3. Oral Piercings

Oral piercings can damage your teeth. If you have a tongue stud or a lip ring, then the jewellery you wear in the piercing is going to come into contact with parts of your teeth. If a stud or ring rubs on to a specific part of a tooth, then the jewellery may eventually abrade off some of the tooth's surface. If it taps on a tooth too hard, then the tooth may break.

This problem can be worse if you get into the habit of playing with your piercing when you wear it. For example, if you use your tongue to mess around with a lip ring, then you may force it against the teeth without realising what you are doing.

Your dentist will help you decide what kind of treatment you need to fix your abrasion problems. Once you know why this is happening, your dentist will also recommend ways to prevent the abrasion from getting worse or happening again.