Tooth Wear: What Causes It? How to Restore Teeth Healthily

How are your teeth doing?

As we age and our knees wear down, our teeth also wear down and age.

You may be familiar with the phrase often used by older adults, “My knees are worn out...” It is an expression used when someone has worked hard for a long time or when the body no longer feels the way it used to as the years go by. But what wears down with age is not only our knees.

Every part of the body naturally ages over time, and its function gradually declines. Teeth, which are essential for chewing food and speaking every day, are also constantly used and inevitably wear down. Tooth wear like this is not simply a minor issue.

Gapped teeth, misaligned teeth, and teeth that are wearing down may seem like nothing more than alignment issues, but in fact they are often related to dental aging that occurs as people get older. For example, as time passes and the gums recede, gaps may open between the teeth, creating black triangular spaces. This is called a “black triangle,” and it is one of the changes that commonly appear with aging, such as loosened spaces between teeth or gaps that become noticeable when smiling.

In addition, the tooth surface gradually wearing away, chipping, or becoming indented can also be considered a representative sign of dental aging, as it is a natural form of wear that occurs from using the teeth over a long period of time. Although it may look like simple spacing or wear on the surface, these changes in the teeth and gums as we age can be important signals linked not just to appearance, but to declining function.

In this article, we will take a closer look at tooth wear and dental aging based on the case of Ms. Park, who was introduced in Cheonan through LG HelloVision’s program Mom Was Beautiful.

I had sensitive teeth and could not chew food well, but now I can eat comfortably.

– Ms. Park, Cheonan mom from Mom Was Beautiful

Ms. Park, the Cheonan mom introduced through Mom Was Beautiful, had not been able to receive proper dental care for a long time amid a busy daily life. Because life was not financially easy, she had few opportunities to take care of her dental health, and this gradually led to discomfort.

Her sense of discomfort about her teeth had also grown so severe that even smiling with ease had become difficult.

According to the examination, Ms. Park showed representative signs of tooth wear and aging, including severe tooth wear (attrition), erosion that caused the tooth surface to become indented, fractures where teeth chipped, and enamel thinning that made the dentin inside the teeth visible. In particular, it was judged that tooth wear may have been closely related to stress, unconscious clenching of the teeth, and the habit of grinding teeth during sleep.

She also had malocclusion, in which the lower teeth sat further inward than the upper teeth. This meant that the relationship between the maxilla and mandible, in other words the jaw relationship, did not fit together naturally.

Teeth do not wear down simply because a person gets older and neglects care. Various lifestyle factors such as oral habits and stress may also have played a role.

Various factors that cause tooth wear

1. Stress

Stress affects not only mental health but also teeth. Clenching the teeth or grinding them during sleep places strong pressure on the teeth, which can lead to tooth wear.

2. Poor eating habits

Habitually biting ice or frequently eating hard foods can strain the teeth and cause fractures or wear on the surface.

3. Poor oral habits

Brushing too forcefully from side to side can cause abrasion at the neck of the tooth, exposing the dentin and leading to cervical abrasion. This can make the teeth look longer and cause sensitivity.

4. Teeth grinding during sleep

Unconscious teeth grinding during sleep continuously wears down the teeth and, in severe cases, can also place strain on the temporomandibular joint.

A tooth anti-aging and restoration solution that considers dental improvement and beauty

Minish

Teeth naturally have gentle curves and grooves on the surface so that they can chew food.

But as teeth age and wear down, these natural curves and grooves gradually disappear. As a result, chewing function declines, and the tooth surface becomes more prone to wear and indentations. Ms. Park, the Cheonan mom, was also a case in which tooth wear progressed rapidly because of this phenomenon.

When worn teeth become shorter over time, it is not just a matter of dental health. It can also negatively affect the overall facial shape.

Teeth support the entire face

Teeth play an important role in maintaining the space from the nose to the tip of the chin. But when teeth wear down, this space collapses, deepening the nasolabial folds and causing the lips to curl inward, making the face appear sunken. These changes are not merely a decline in function; they can also make a person look older than they are and trigger appearance-related concerns. If Ms. Park had not received proper care, she might have faced even greater worries not only about her teeth but also about the overall change in facial shape.

A choice for improving dental aging and reconstructing facial balance: the tooth restoration solution Minish

Ms. Park underwent the tooth restoration solution Minish to improve dental aging and restore facial balance. The key was to restore worn and indented teeth so that natural teeth would no longer be damaged.

In particular, areas where dentin was exposed due to cervical abrasion were first restored using resin, which has properties most similar to dentin, and then the tooth restoration solution Minish was applied overall to preserve and protect the teeth’s natural shape. Her front teeth were also badly worn and chipped, but Minish improved both the shape and aesthetics, and the thinned tooth surface (enamel thinning) was also restored to a healthier state using Minish.

Restoring molars with the tooth restoration solution Minish

Ms. Park not only had issues with her front teeth, but her molars were also severely chipped to the point that she could not chew food properly. Accordingly, the molar area was also improved using the tooth restoration solution Minish. Using a material most similar to natural tooth enamel, the gum line and even the uneven chewing surfaces were precisely restored, allowing her to comfortably chew food again with healthy molars.

Ms. Park also wanted her crooked lower teeth to be improved. In particular, because the front teeth were severely worn and the area of damage was extensive, the dual Minish approach was used for a more detailed restoration.

Dual Minish can precisely restore not only the front surface of the teeth but also the inner surface on the tongue side, helping achieve both a natural alignment and protection at the same time. As you can see in the photo above, the lower teeth that had been arranged unevenly were neatly aligned, and the worn areas were also restored to a healthy state.

Don’t leave it untreated—it can become serious! What are the causes and treatment methods for tooth erosion? Dual Minish Have you heard that small habits in our daily lives can cause tooth erosion? Tooth erosion wears away the surface of the teeth...

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Dual Minish case

In this way, Ms. Park regained a bright smile through the tooth restoration solution Minish.

Not only were the worn, indented, chipped molars and weakened enamel restored to a healthy state, but the overall tooth alignment, color, and surface texture were also improved to look natural and beautiful.

Above all, by restoring teeth weakened by aging, positive changes occurred not only in the teeth but also in the entire face. As the teeth became more stable, the facial muscles moved more naturally, the expression softened when smiling, and the muscles supporting the face became more active, allowing for a younger and healthier impression.



As we get older and age progresses, it is natural for changes to occur.

Just as changes occur throughout the body over time, teeth are no exception. It is a process anyone can go through for teeth to naturally wear down and weaken with age.

However, if this makes chewing food difficult or causes you to cover your mouth every time you smile, it should not simply be dismissed as aging and should be actively managed. In particular, if you are someone like Ms. Park, whom we came to know through the Mom Was Beautiful program and who had not had the time to care for dental health for a long period, it is important to check your exact dental condition and consider restoration before it is too late.

Because teeth are precious and used for a lifetime, dental aging should not be taken lightly; prevention and ongoing care are necessary.

Dental health is not just a matter of the teeth themselves; it is an important part that can also change your facial impression and quality of life.

Minish Dental Hospital creates healthy and beautiful changes through the tooth restoration solution Minish. We hope you, too, will take a small first step in managing dental aging today.

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