Gumline Trauma

When we see a loss of tooth structure near the gumline in our patients, we carefully look for different reasons as to why this happens.  Mainly it is from toothbrush abrasion (brushing your teeth too hard with the wrong type of toothbrush), erosion or a combinaton of both of these.  As dentists, we must question patients on how hard they brush their teeth, what kind of toothbrush they use (hard or soft) and how many times a day they are brushing.  All of these factors contribute to changes in the thinnest part of the enamel meeting the root surface.  Another important factor in losing tooth structure on your gumline is heavy chewing which affects the surface of the tooth.  This heavy stress penetrates down to the thin enamel on the gumline area and breakdown of the tooth bonds occur.  Teeth without sound gum structure around them can be very painful but the good news is that it can be corrected and after a thorough examination, we can formulate a treatment plan to address the missing enamel using a variety of treatments available such as fillings and maybe even an occlusal (night) guard.   You don't have to tolerate this pain any longer.