Help Determine Cause of Tooth Wear

[spennny]

Hi there

I have recently become aware that my teeth seem to display some evidence of wear. This can be seen on my two top front teeth, and my two bottom front teeth. I am trying to determine the cause of this problem. I have researched the possible causes of this type of wear and my understanding is that it is usually caused by: attrition, abrasion and/or erosion. Although it is possible that one of these is the cause of my problem, it certainly is not clear to me for the following reasons.

Attrition:
I do think it is likely that I clench my jaw at night and at times during the day, and subsequently grind my teeth to some extent, in particular my molars. However I do not understand how this could cause wear on my top and bottom front teeth. When I clench my jaw my front teeth go in front of my bottom teeth so they are not touching anything. I do not see what my front teeth could be grinding against. When I place my top front teeth directly on my bottom front teeth it feels incredibly unnatural and I am sure that I do not grind my teeth in that way.

Abrasion:
There have been times in my life where I simply bought the cheapest toothbrush. This caused some gum line cavities. I have since corrected this problem and now use an electric toothbrush with extra soft bristles. Although this time using a hard bristled toothbrush could have contributed to the wear on the tops of my front teeth, I don't think it could have caused this amount of wear because I don't spend much time brushing the tops of my front teeth. At times I do use my teeth to help open something but it's extremely rare and hardly worth mentioning. I also used to bite my nails as a child but not since then.

Erosion:
This cause is very unlikely in my mind as I do not drink pop, fruit juices or much of anything acidic.
Any help in understanding the cause of this problem would be greatly appreciated. In particular if this could be caused by bruxism and if so how? I have attached some pictures. I am happy to answer any questions if more information is needed.

Some other notes:
I have tooth sensitivity on one of my bottom front teeth
I am a 40 year old male
I have never had my wisdom teeth taken out
I obviously have some crowding issues
I use sensodyne
I brush and floss once a day before bed

 

[Busybee]

It's normal to have some wear at age 40. The likely reason for your wear is your tooth alignment and your jaw habits (so attrition), but there's no point changing your tooth alignment at your age. Your best preventative measure is to get a night guard for when you are asleep and can't control your jaw, and to try to relax your jaw in the day when you are awake and able to control things. Your dentist can make you a night guard. You have to consciously change your daytime habits. A dentist can repair the damage but all dental work has costs and benefits and it's best you try the conservative route before any artificial solutions.