A recent photo made your front teeth look shorter, or a hygienist mentioned wear. Does that mean your bite needs fixing? From Georgetown, an assessment examines how your teeth meet, what the wear suggests and whether anything is actually causing trouble, before any care is planned.
Wear is often spotted before it is felt. A smile in a family photo looks different, edges seem flatter in the mirror, or a hygienist points out shiny facets during a cleaning. Occlusion, the pattern in which your top and bottom teeth touch, matters here, and examining it alongside the teeth and their history helps explain what the wear means and whether it is still happening.
Worn teeth do not automatically point to a bite that is wrong. Grinding or clenching, acidic drinks, the natural effects of age, older restorations and the way certain teeth guide your jaw can all play a part, sometimes together. Some patterns call for protection or monitoring, others for repair, and some need nothing more than a record.
Tell us when you first noticed the change and whether anything else seems linked, such as sensitivity, chipping, a sore jaw, new dental work or a guard that has changed. Photos from a few years ago can be surprisingly useful. Our team will explain the findings, be honest about the limits of what wear can tell us and help you decide on a next step without assuming the teeth must be reshaped.
Notice what you see and feel, whether it is a recent change or has crept up over years, and whether it bothers you when you eat. There is no need to keep testing a chipped or sensitive tooth before your visit.
A fresh filling or crown placed beside worn teeth may meet earlier than its neighbours. Tell us which tooth, and whether it lands first, hurts on chewing or just feels unfamiliar. Recent work is best reviewed by the practice that placed it rather than left to settle.
Flattened edges, small chips and restorations that keep breaking can be related, or not. Bring any guard or retainer and a list of past repairs. We look at whether the contacts and the state of the teeth fit the pattern and what else might be involved. A facet records contact; it does not prove a present cause.
If you also have jaw pain, stiffness, locking or limited opening, mention it separately. Muscles and joints may need their own assessment. Seeing wear and feeling jaw pain at the same time does not make reshaping the teeth the obvious answer.
There is no reliable evidence that a misaligned bite causes temporomandibular disorders. If jaw symptoms are part of your concern, ask how the diagnosis is reached and why any proposed treatment fits.
Much of the value lies in telling past wear from active damage. The examination links what you have noticed to what can be shown: which teeth are affected, how they meet, whether restorations are involved and what remains uncertain. Sometimes the answer is reassuring, and simply recording the current state is the right first step.
Proposals also need to be weighed by size. Protecting teeth from further grinding, repairing a single chipped edge and rebuilding many surfaces are very different commitments. For each idea, ask about its purpose, the alternatives and its limits, and whether it addresses the change you actually noticed.
Wear might be confined to a few teeth, linked to a single restoration, or spread across the mouth. Knowing which keeps the response proportionate and prevents a small concern from becoming an unexplained large plan. If several areas matter, ask which comes first.
Photos, notes or study models taken now can make later changes easier to judge. Agree on what you are watching for and how often it will be checked. A review means more when both of you know what it is measuring.
Worn teeth have already lost some structure, so any plan to remove more deserves particular care. Ask exactly what would be altered and why, and consider the uncertainty and alternatives. A second opinion before extensive work is a reasonable request.
The visit is adapted to your concern. Some people need only an examination and a conversation, others need more records, and coming in does not commit you to any adjustment.
Start with when the change became noticeable, which teeth bother you and whether there is sensitivity, chipping or discomfort when closing or chewing. Mention diet, habits, recent treatment and anything already tried. Jaw symptoms are discussed separately.
The clinician looks at the pattern of wear, the teeth and the restorations, and a thin marking strip may show how they meet. Share what you feel as you close. The marks are interpreted with the history and examination, not as the whole story.
Photographs, models, x-rays or another clinician’s view can help with some wear questions and add little to others. The choice should follow what was found and what you want to know. There is no single device every assessment requires.
That might be monitoring, protection, a focused repair, conservative care or a referral. Any adjustment would be a separate decision with a review afterward. If the findings leave the cause unclear, the plan should be to investigate rather than to experiment.
Assessment alone usually has no recovery period. Instructions depend on whether care was given, a guard was reviewed or further records are being arranged.
A sharp chipped edge can be tempting to file, but please do not adjust teeth, restorations or a guard at home. If something catches or feels wrong, call and describe it. Bring any appliance so it can be checked in person.
Notice whether eating feels the same, better or worse, and whether new sensitivity or chips appear. Dated notes or a photo every few months can help. You can ask at the appointment how soon a new change should prompt another visit.
Store treatment summaries, guard instructions and any referral details in one place, and mention dental care you receive elsewhere. A consistent record makes it easier to see whether wear is progressing.
What you have noticed, what has been done before and what the clinician sees all count. The appointment can clarify your options even if the best plan is to protect and monitor.
Patient information: NIDCR — painless joint sounds and caution about permanent bite changes for TMD
Contact our Bronte Street practice about worn or chipped teeth, contacts that feel uneven or restorations that keep failing. We can examine the teeth, explain what the wear suggests and discuss protection, repair or further investigation.
What is examined, the records taken, any treatment or referral, and fees all follow from the findings. Bite adjustment is not routine, and we cannot predict in advance exactly what the assessment will explain.
