Veneers and Worn-Down Teeth
Can worn teeth be completely repaired?
Yes, tooth damage caused by excessive tooth wear can be completely repaired. In addition, the refurbishment is possible at such a high aesthetic level that the damage caused by wear and tear can be made no longer recognizable. However, this requires good therapy planning, which can also include various pre-treatments, such as treating any cavities with fillings, root canal treatment, or periodontitis treatment of acute or chronic inflammation in the oral cavity. If a tooth has too much excessive wear, it might have to be removed.
If no tooth needs to be removed and smaller gaps between teeth can be treated with fixed, ideally all-ceramic dentures, treatment for worn-down teeth can be completed after around four weeks (or four to six sessions in the practice). If teeth must be extracted, implants or implant-supported dentures can be used to close the gaps. Then the treatment takes much longer, usually about a year. Because before inserting the implants, the doctor often has to carry out bone augmentation measures, and after the procedure, the implant needs several months to heal and grow firmly into the jawbone. For this time, the patient receives a fixed provisional, i.e. a good transitional denture.
If wear is great, but not too excessive, your dentist might recommend a crown over the worn-down teeth. With a partial or full crown of the worn teeth, even more hard tooth substance is lost because the dentist has to prepare the tooth beforehand by grinding off more of the enamel. For this reason, if possible, your dentist will consider a gentler alternative to fixing your worn-down teeth: ceramic veneers. The thin facings, or veneers are glued on; the corresponding tooth needs much less preparation in the form of grinding for them. Veneers in the front teeth are called labial veneers, those for the side teeth are called occlusal veneers.
Veneers are extremely thin, translucent ceramic shells that are fitted over your existing teeth. They are individually made and glued to each tooth by your dentist. Veneers are often recommended for the following problems:
- Tooth discoloration
- Defects in tooth enamel
- Slight misaligned teeth
- Closing gaps by widening the teeth
- Chipped or broken tooth corners
- Irregular or rough tooth surface
- Odd or deformed teeth
- Alignment of different long teeth
- Restoration of heavily used teeth due to bruxism (grinding of the teeth)
There are several types of conventional veneers, but the most common are ceramic and composite. As stated, conventional (sometimes called “prep” veneers) are veneers where the dentist must lightly grind your existing teeth to prepare them for the veneer. Conventional veneers have a very good opacity due to their thickness. They are therefore particularly suitable for concealing heavily discolored teeth.
Ceramic veneers are mainly made of glass ceramics or feldspar ceramics. The advantage to using this material is that it comes closest to the natural hardness of tooth enamel. In addition, ceramics do not discolor and have a natural-looking transparency. Alternatively, composite can also be used. Composite veneers are a mixture of ceramic, glass and quartz particles. This mixture is usually used as a tooth filling and is comparatively less expensive than ceramic. With a thickness of around 1 mm, this type of veneer requires a relatively large amount of space. Depending on the individual situation, the dentist therefore removes up to 1.5 mm of the protective tooth enamel. Only then are they able to attach the veneer shells to the tooth. There are also some veneer products that require no tooth prep, so if this is an issue for you, ask your dentist about options you may have.
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