Bottom of front top teeth wearing away, apparently need a night guard

[bluejeans]

My dentist believes I need a night guard from tooth grinding, but in an emergency (it was an emergency to me, filling fell out and I thought it was a chipped tooth) I went to another dentist who could get me in quicker, and their assistant suggested it had been due to swishing soda in my mouth (in actual fact I tried pot over several months and hated the taste, and rinsed/spat out soda to get rid of it... the teeth started to wear away soon after this).

Main dentist is convinced that it's reflux and/or teeth grinding but there's no visible wear on any other teeth. He used adhesive to cover the wear but said he can't do it again, there's not enough at the back of said teeth to "build up" enough adhesive. I have a huge amount of trouble sleeping (am on anti-psychotics but they're only for insomnia) and doubt I'd be able to sleep with a night guard in (plus it cost $500 which he will certainly not cover).

Worst case situation is, when I asked him today, that eventually the teeth will chip without it. I asked what sort of time frame this would take place over but he said it's impossible to tell.

I'd hate the sensation of a missing tooth (my mother had false teeth from the age of 15 due to her parents working at a chocolate factory) and I don't think there's anything I could be given for the pain if a tooth were to be taken out... tramadol makes me vomit and codeine keeps me awake for 24 hours and you soon build a tolerance to it. I should have asked him if he'd give me oxycodone if it should ever happen.

I'm 35 and the scariest thing is that people I know who are about 30, don't have the advantage of a private dentist, so the public system just rips their teeth out when it becomes too expensive for them to do any sort of restoration!

 

[Gordon]

Stop swishing the acid soda stuff round your teeth, see if things stabilise.
If not, then most night guards are made of soft material and are very easy to wear, not heard anyone complain they had trouble sleeping with one in.

Most dental pains can easily be managed by good old aspirin or paracetamol, you don't need narcotics for it.

Last thing, I've had to edit your post a little, PM me if you want an explanation ;-)

 

[bluejeans]

Stop swishing the acid soda stuff round your teeth, see if things stabilise.
If not, then most night guards are made of soft material and are very easy to wear, not heard anyone complain they had trouble sleeping with one in.

Most dental pains can easily be managed by good old aspirin or paracetamol, you don't need narcotics for it.

Last thing, I've had to edit your post a little, PM me if you want an explanation ;-)

Sadly I've stopped the swishing for 3 years more or less, but I've had access to cheap orange juice, where apparently the acidity is a problem for teeth in general (he didn't mention the two teeth specifically being harmed by that). The strange thing is that there were no cavities this time, usually there are at least a couple. There was some gingivitis which shocked me as I'd brushed more often and more thorough since the last checl-up (I've not had gingivitis in close to 10 years)

 

[Gordon]

The acidity from the juice is still a problem, try leaving out the OJ for a few months and see if that stabilises things.

 

[remjohn]

Don't worry about a night guard. Get them to make you one of the softer types which my dentists recommended for me. I was a little confused as I'm not aware of ever grinding my teeth and, the ones at the front that he thought I was doing it with, make feel feel really uncomfortable if I put them together. Not painful, but like fingernails on a blackboard type feeling of urrgh. Can't imagine I'd be doing that but I guess I don't know.

What I would say, is make sure you're not planning any more work or have had any done recently as this can affect the comfort or even necessitate a new one. I'm in the middle of loads of stuff which has made it awkward for me.

In short, I too was apprehensive about night guards but my only problem has been due to other issues, they're absolutely fine to sleep in - can just make your teeth feel a bit weird in the morning at first but again, this could be my other issues.