Symptoms, explained
Worn teeth and grinding: what’s slowly wearing them down
Teeth are tough, but they’re not indestructible. Grinding, clenching and acid can wear them down slowly — often without any pain, which is why the change sneaks up over years. Here’s how we work out what’s wearing your teeth, and how we protect them — starting with the cause, not the drill.
This page can’t diagnose you. Grinding, acid and hard brushing each leave a different pattern on the teeth, and the tests in the chair — a careful look at that pattern, photos we can compare over time, sometimes an X-ray — make the call. You’re not expected to know what’s causing it. That’s our job. This page just helps you understand what you’re seeing and what to expect.
The good news up front: wear caught early can usually be slowed right down — and teeth that are already worn can be rebuilt when they need to be.
Toothache right now? We keep same-day slots — and we answer.
Call nowFlat, shorter teeth — often with an aching jaw in the morning
If your teeth look flatter or shorter than they used to, and the worn edges of the top and bottom teeth match up like puzzle pieces, grinding is the usual suspect. Grinding often happens during sleep, so you may have no idea you’re doing it — many people only find out from a partner who hears it, or from a dentist who spots the wear.
Grinding is a habit you don’t choose, and there’s no shame in it — it’s one of the most common things we see. You can’t simply decide to stop a habit that happens while you’re asleep. So the plan isn’t willpower; it’s protection:
- First we look at what might be driving it — daytime clenching and other habits are common threads — and talk through what’s realistic to change.
- A night guard — a slim, custom-made splint you wear while you sleep. It doesn’t stop the grinding; it takes the wear so your teeth don’t have to. Replacing a worn guard is easy. Replacing worn tooth isn’t.
- If your teeth feel bruised or tender when you bite in the morning, a small, careful adjustment to how they meet can take the pressure off.
What you should do
Book a routine appointment. The earlier a night guard goes in, the more tooth it saves — wear we prevent is far easier than wear we have to rebuild.
Teeth that look thin, see-through at the edges, or “dissolving”
Acid wear looks different from grinding. Front teeth get thin, see-through edges, chewing surfaces develop smooth little hollows, and the backs of the top front teeth can look scooped out. Dentists call this erosion, and the acid usually comes from one of two places: what goes into your mouth, or what comes up from your stomach.
Common culprits: fizzy drinks (including the sugar-free ones), fruit juice, sports drinks and lots of citrus — or acid reflux and frequent heartburn, which bring stomach acid up to the teeth, often without you realising. Repeated vomiting, whatever the reason, does the same. We ask about all of this so we can protect your teeth — never to judge.
- Find and control the acid first. Diet changes if the acid is coming from food and drink. If reflux looks likely, we’ll suggest seeing your doctor about it — treating the source protects your teeth more than anything we can paint onto them.
- Strengthen what’s left — fluoride varnish in the chair, a stronger fluoride or remineralising toothpaste at home, and desensitising treatment if cold has started to sting.
- Watch it properly — photos, and sometimes models of your teeth, so at each check-up we can see whether the wear has genuinely stopped or is still creeping.
What you should do
Book a routine appointment — and if you get heartburn or reflux more than occasionally, please mention it. It’s a cause that’s easy to miss.
Notches worn into the teeth near the gumline
Small wedge-shaped notches where the tooth meets the gum usually come from years of scrubbing with a firm brush — the tooth wears at its thinnest point. These notches are often sensitive to cold air or touch.
The fix is refreshingly gentle:
- Switch to a soft brush and a lighter technique — we’ll show you exactly what that looks like.
- Calm the sensitivity — a desensitising toothpaste at home, or a varnish applied in the chair.
- Repair the deeper notches with a tooth-coloured filling that protects the tooth and covers the sensitive surface.
What you should do
Book a routine appointment. Caught early, this stays a small, simple job.
Jaw clicking, tender face muscles, or a jaw that’s tired in the morning
Grinding and clenching don’t just wear teeth — they work the jaw muscles and joint overtime. That can show up as clicking or popping in front of your ear, tender cheeks or temples, a jaw that aches in the morning, or one that doesn’t want to open all the way.
If that’s you, here’s the most important thing to know: this usually settles. Most jaw joint and muscle problems improve with simple care, and surgery is genuinely rare — a true last resort.
- Rest the joint: softer food for a while, and going easier on habits that overwork the jaw — we’ll help you spot yours.
- Simple anti-inflammatory painkillers from the pharmacy can take the edge off while things calm down — ask us or your pharmacist what suits you.
- Gentle jaw exercises — and physiotherapy if it needs more.
- A night-time splint if the simple measures aren’t enough — it protects the teeth and often eases the strain on the muscles too.
If your jaw keeps locking, or the pain isn’t improving with these steps, we refer you to a specialist. That’s the correct next rung on the ladder — not a reason to be alarmed.
What you should do
Book an appointment so we can work out whether it’s muscle, joint or bite — and start you on the gentle measures. If your jaw locks and won’t release, contact us promptly rather than waiting for it to pass.
Rebuilding teeth that are already worn
Rebuilding comes *after* the cause is under control — building new surfaces while grinding or acid is still active is like repainting a wall with the leak still dripping behind it. Once the wear has been stopped at its source, there’s a gentle ladder of options, and we only climb as far as your teeth actually need:
- Watch and protect. If the wear is mild and stable, the right treatment is often no treatment — photos and models at check-ups confirm nothing is changing.
- Composite build-ups. Worn edges — usually on front teeth — rebuilt by bonding white filling material, adding to the tooth rather than drilling it away. The new bite is carefully planned so everything settles comfortably.
- Onlays — lab-made covers for worn back teeth that protect the whole chewing surface while keeping as much natural tooth as possible.
- Crowns, or a full rebuild of the bite, for severe wear — the biggest step, which is exactly why it sits last on the ladder, never first.
What you should do
If your teeth already look shorter or thinner than they used to, book a consultation so we can map the wear and make a plan. Even if the plan is simply “protect and watch”, that beats discovering the damage all at once years from now.
Go to an emergency department NOW — don’t wait for us — if you have: swelling under the tongue or into the neck, difficulty swallowing or breathing, an eye swelling shut, or rapidly spreading facial swelling with fever. These are medical emergencies first and dental problems second.
What it costs
Every price above is a genuine “starting from” for the straightforward case. We quote before we treat — always. If you’re on a medical aid, we claim directly: you pay only co-payments and anything your plan doesn’t cover or has already used up.
On a medical aid? See what your scheme’s published benefits say — and we confirm with a benefit check before treatment.
Not sure which pattern is yours?
Tell us what you’re feeling — we’ll take it from there.