Many patients today come to the office complaining of having teeth with weakened, worn, or flaking enamel.
Often the most affected teeth, or at least the most easily visible ones, are the upper and lower incisors.
When the patient notices that the enamel is wearing away and comes to our attention, we clinicians are immediately called upon to distinguish and identify the cause of the destructive process.
In some cases the main cause is enamel erosion, caused by prolonged contact with acidic substances.
In our blog post on erosion, we discussed the various causes underlying this destructive process.
In another group of patients, however, a progressive shortening of the front teeth is observed, which become short and thick.
The main cause is occlusal stress.
In these patients, chewing occurs in successive horizontal cycles, wearing down the teeth as they rub together. These patients chew similarly to ruminant animals.
Psycho-physical stress, which is a very widespread pathology in the modern era, leads to phenomena of grinding or clenching of the occlusal teeth, which cause a progressive flaking of the tooth substance.
Another cause of incisal edge destruction is the habit of biting nails or chewing on more or less rigid objects such as pen caps or pipe tips.
Sometimes the condition of acid erosion is accompanied by occlusal stress, creating “mixed” cases.
Once the cause of the enamel loss has been identified, we can proceed with the aesthetic reconstruction of the teeth.
Today we have materials available that can be glued onto the tooth and we can intervene in a simply additive way, that is, we add lost substance, without having to file the teeth and therefore without weakening them.
Obviously we will have to lift the back teeth, to be able to lengthen the front teeth that have shortened.
That is, we must relax what has gradually become compressed over time (Increase in the Vertical Dimension).
With the additive system we can obtain many advantages.
At this point, patients ask me:
How many appointments will the treatment require?
We will immediately proceed with an aesthetic additive mock-up, that is, we will place an easily removable material on the teeth and which will immediately allow us to see the “overall effect” of the reconstructions, so as to test the aesthetics and be able to make any changes.
With the mock-up assembled, the patient can go home, show it to relatives and friends, and evaluate how he feels with future reconstructions, having a good simulation in his mouth.
Once we are fully satisfied with the aesthetics, we will proceed in an appointment to additively construct the uniform base on which we will then glue the all-ceramic risers.
Impressions will then be taken, using digital scanners or analog techniques, and the technician will create pieces of integral ceramic (inlays).
and dental veneers that will be glued onto your teeth.
Everything will be done in three appointments.
Does the treatment hurt?
Since we work by adding material, we do not file down the teeth, and therefore it is not painful.
Everything is done without anesthesia.
How long will the work last?
If the underlying cause of enamel destruction is a masticatory parafunction, grinding or horizontal chewing cycles, it is very likely that the destructive process will also manifest itself in the restorations.
The huge advantage is that these materials can always be repaired with simple adhesive-type tools, and the work can therefore be easily restored.
If the cause is erosion, the prognosis is significantly better, because the all-ceramic is not affected by the acid.
How much does cosmetic dental reconstruction cost?
It’s very difficult to answer this question, because it depends on the number of teeth involved and the extent of the damage. However, it is possible to intervene gradually, that is, you can start by restoring the back teeth with composite, which is a more economical material, and rebuild only the incisors with ceramic veneers.
Subsequently, an upgrade with full ceramic can be done.
in the rear areas, so as to spread out the work and the expense.
The important thing is to intervene as early as possible on still minor damage!
If you have any questions, I’ll be waiting for you in the studio: I can’t wait to meet you.
