Why does my lower front tooth feel rough all of a sudden?

Lower incisors tend to get a lot of wear over the course of a lifetime. Many people, especially when their heads tilt forward, tend to rest the edges of the lower anteriors against the edges of their maxillary anteriors.  This can happen at night while sleeping and I often recommend patients wear a night guard when I see moderate wear on lower anteriors.

When wear occurs, eventually the covering of enamel on the incisal edge of lower teeth can disappear, leaving an area of dentin sandwiched in between two strips of enamel (on the buccal and the lingual) . When this happens, the enamel is a little bit like a veneer over  dentin and with the proper amount of focal pressure it can sheer off, leaving a roughened portion of dentin exposed. Usually this occurs on the lingual surface and can be easily fixed using some bonded composite to restore the tooth surface and make it feel smooth again. The good news is this procedure usually does not require anesthesia and can be accomplished in less than 30 minutes.

Yesterday, a patient came in with a chipped lingual surface on one of his lower central incisors and I repaired it nicely and afterwards he asked if he had any restrictions. I explained that nail biting was out. He showed me a perfectly manicured set of finger nails and he said " no way am I going to stop biting these nails!". Ok, I explained  he should try using different lower incisors to perform his nail grooming in the future or try using a nail clipper instead.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2018/01/why-does-my-lower-front-tooth-feel.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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