Shaping Up Teeth – Blog Series

Worn teeth causing overclosure of bite

In a mouth with very worn teeth, we can build up the bite with bonded tooth coloured materials. This is called increasing the vertical dimension. The vertical dimension is the distance between the jaw bones when the teeth are fully biting. The closer the jaw bones are together the shorter the teeth are and the stronger the bite will be.

The teeth can become very short quickly, once the enamel has been worn, exposing the less wear resistant dentine. If the wear continues then the exposed dentine is prone to increased sensitivity, decay and exposing the nerve! The remaining enamel needs the dentine to support its structure. Without it, the enamel the chips and even cracks! Furthermore cracks can involve the dentine and eventually the root. This can spell the end of the tooth, especially if it’s a vertical fracture. Ouch!

By building up the teeth to increase the vertical dimension, this prevents the jaws from over closing and reducing the pressure on the teeth and fillings. The fillings will also be thicker and stronger and look better.