A Veneer Treatment Case for Severely Worn Teeth

Hello. I'm Park Jonguk, head of Dream Dental Clinic.

The more teeth are used, the more they wear down.

There are various reasons for this wear.

Sometimes the problem comes from teeth wearing against each other.

Sometimes it comes from eating a lot of hard foods.

Among these kinds of wear, the most serious is chemical wear —

when teeth are eroded by acid.

Due to acid reflux (GERD) or eating habits,

teeth can end up worn away.

There are various treatment options for cases like this,

and most of them are fairly challenging.

In most cases, veneers are the optimal treatment method.

Please refer to the link below for a previous post of mine

about an acid-reflux case treated using the veneer sandwich technique.

This case involves a combination of this kind of acid erosion

along with attrition between teeth and general wear.

A significant portion of the teeth

had worn away for a variety of reasons.

There were several contributing causes, including acid reflux (GERD) and teeth grinding.

Orthodontic treatment resolved the excessive occlusal contact that occurred during grinding,

which put the teeth into a state where veneers became possible.

A diagnosis of the teeth is carried out.

This is a treatment where a detailed diagnosis matters a great deal.

In every veneer treatment,

the most important thing is the diagnosis.

Using the same method as in the link above, the diagnosis was carried out,

and it was decided to smooth only the sharp, pointed areas of the teeth before doing the veneers.

In the current condition, the most important thing to improve is the length of the teeth.

Through gum contouring,

the necessary tooth length is secured.

However, depending on the position of the bone and the condition of the gums,

the amount of gum tissue that can be removed varies.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a case where a large amount could be removed.

After the gum contouring,

the rough areas of the teeth are smoothed to finish preparation for the veneers.

Making veneers out of extremely thin ceramic

and expressing a natural tooth color and translucency

requires a considerable amount of effort and care.

Of course, skill and know-how built up over a long period are essential as well.

In many cases, veneers are simply made

using a computer-based fabrication method.

While this is cutting-edge technology,

it falls considerably short of handmade work when it comes to esthetics.

Making veneers that look obviously artificial is easy.

But making them look this much

like a natural tooth is a considerably difficult and demanding process.

Since 2006, Dream Dental Clinic