Abfraction Teeth Treatment. The Most Common
Abfraction teeth are a kind of defect that manifests itself as a violation of integrity of the hard tooth tissues after they erupt.
Damage can occur on any place, but the most common are the incisors, since they have the greatest pressure. Such a defect has a non-carious nature, representing more aesthetic disadvantage. The magnitude of dental abfraction lies with a degree of occlusal tension (an interaction of teeth, chewing muscles and temporomandibular joints), its duration, direction and location. As a result of the atypical load, pressure occurs on the bend in a neck of the tooth and the destruction in the hard tooth tissues gradually develops. Dentin demineralization occurs in the early stages, which may have consequences.
In addition, the risk of abfraction is high for people with a wrong bite. By reason of an uneven distribution of the load, a pressure on other teeth rises. And that’s one of the main reasons why prosthetics or implantation is so necessary.
Symptoms of Abfraction Teeth
In its manifestations, abfraction resembles a wedge-shaped tooth defect. This name comes from a peculiar form of injury to dental tissues - in form of a wedge from the bottom of the tooth neck to the cutting edge. Such a defect occurs in patients with fine tooth enamel, as well as in those who do dental cleaning incorrectly. This leads to tooth failure, and also affects a dentin, where nerve endings are settled. Also, all this may be due to work in the chemical industry or may be related to genetics.
But although these defects are similar, you must be able to discern them from each other since they can have different curing. Symptoms of abfraction are:
- No caries in the place of defect;
- Microcracks near damaged enamel;
- Dentin pigmentation;
- The edge gums are not raised;
- A high sensitivity of an affected tooth
As for abfraction causes, they are related with a number of some factors that affect the amplification of this defect.
Abfraction Causes and Treatment
Dentists did not come to a consensus by what reason the development of pathology is happening and only highlight some common causes related to abfraction. One of the significant factors is excessive occlusion - with chewing pressure, tooth micro-bends occur, as a result of which the enamel cracks in the tooth neck and spalls appear. Aside of that, you need to pay attention to a parafunction of the tongue (inappropriate activity, tension or spasm). If the oral cavity has insufficient volume - the location of the jaw or malocclusion, then the tongue has a strong lateral effect on the teeth during speaking or swallowing.
Above all, one should not forget about the consequences of bad habits: excessive pressure with a brush, using of whitening pastes, tooth-grinding and strong squeezing of jaws, as well as the use of certain food products - all this leads to enamel wear.
Regardless of the stage of this malaise, during the abfraction treatment, the causes that induce it should be primarily eliminated.
However, in order to provide the best and most suitable therapy option, the dental specialist must define the extent of the lesion and identify possible progression. If this is an initial form, then it is enough to carry out remineralizing therapy, and then timely monitoring of abfraction in order to keep it within. Further to restoring the lesion, during tooth abfraction treatment, it’s also important to identify other possible factors: bite correction, tooth positioning, etc. The patient should consult the specialists regarding the installation of braces or crowns. To eliminate the aesthetic defect, are used the methods of tooth filling, installation of crowns or veneers. Abfraction lesions are more common among the adult population, with the frequency of presence increasing from 20 to 70 years. It was revealed that restoration in premolars in patients over 40 years of age occurs due to non-carious lesions and this emphasizes an importance of timely prophylaxis at an earlier age.
In conclusion, it should be recalled that there are quite a lot of factors provoking the appearance of abfraction in dentistry. Any material, no matter how strong it may be, eventually lends itself to various loads and becomes thinner. The same effect occurs with tooth tissue - the strongest in a human body. Daily pressure when chewing food, the mechanical impacts of a toothbrush, natural processes in the body, as well as the occurrence of certain diseases are the most often causes of abfraction. In order to prevent an increasing growth of a dental disease, it is necessary to visit the dentist regularly, include foods rich in fluoride and calcium in the diet, and check your oral cavity.
