Both attrition and abrasion affect the way your smile looks and feels. The more you understand about these two naturally occurring processes, the better able you are to take steps to safeguard your smile through at-home and professional dental care. Keep reading to learn more from our Dallas cosmetic dentists…
Attrition
Over time, dental enamel wears down and thins due to tooth-on-tooth contact—this is dental attrition. Attrition is a natural byproduct of daily life, but that doesn’t mean that we should just let it develop un-checked. It is in our best interest to protect our smiles, as much as possible, from attrition, so that we can maintain healthy smiles, longer. Remember, once dental enamel wears away it does not regenerate!
Abrasion
Abrasion occurs when dental enamel is worn away by foreign objects, like toothbrushes or toothpicks. Abrasion can occur because we’re exposing our teeth to hard or abrasive substances, because we are using too much force on our enamel, or both.
Protective Measures
The good news is that there are steps you can take to protect your smile from attrition and abrasion. For example…
- Incorporate fluoride into your oral hygiene routine, since fluoride helps to strengthen enamel
- Choose gentle oral hygiene tools and formulations
- Try not to chomp on ice, hard candies, pens etc.
- Limit your consumption of acidic foods and drink—acid softens enamel
- Seek immediate treatment for conditions like bruxism
If you want to learn more about things that you can do to protect your smile from attrition and abrasion, please feel free to call our Dallas dentists to schedule a personal consultation!