Whether it’s veneers or a crown, or a denture, it doesn’t matter what type of treatment you have in dentistry, you must maintain your teeth by brushing them twice a day and flossing everyday. For some patients, they may have to do it more often than that and they may have to utilize water picks or floss threaders. It is important that you ask your Dentist for specific care instructions for your particular treatment.
There are a lot of different home care products that patients need, some need different products than others. But at the end of the day, if I provide any service, any treatment for a patient of mine, and they decide tomorrow that they’ve had enough of using a toothbrush, can I guarantee that their crown or bridge will last forever? Absolutely not. I can’t.
Tomorrow they could get the job offer of their life, and with that job comes an incredible amount of responsibility. With that responsibility, comes an incredible amount of stress. They could start grinding their teeth so badly because the stress is so much, that at night they don’t realize it but their grinding their teeth aggressively. A patient visits my office on Monday, who by Friday could be in a completely different position in their life.
Certainly, somebody who grinds their teeth aggressively is someone who you have to take into consideration when you’re presenting treatment like veneers for instance, or crowns. There are different materials that you can use, and different treatment options that you could give the patient in order for you to give them a longer life for whatever restoration you might be providing for them in their mouth.
If I notice any type of abnormal wear on a patient’s teeth, I immediately, even before I present the treatment for veneers, I make it very clear to them what the potential causes are of bruxing or grinding. Then, I let them know how it can affect the outcome.
You have to plan accordingly. If you don’t take those sorts of things into account, you could very easily find you’ve got a patient coming to your office the day after you cement a veneer and the veneer is in the patient’s hand because you didn’t plan accordingly, or your didn’t do a full comprehensive evaluation.
If I notice any type of abnormal wear on a patient’s teeth, I will immediately recommend a night-guard so that they can prolong the life of the restoration.
