Repairing damage from Teeth Grinding?

What can I do? about 3 weeks I ago I had a seemingly minor cavity repaired with a filling. The filling turned out to be too high so I went to have it adjusted... and my dentist made it too short!! resulting in a uneven bite.





Due to the holiday season I could not find any dentists for the last 2 weeks and since then I have started to grind my teeth at night and now most of the teeth on my lower right hand side are a lot smoother than the other side. It isn%26#039;t causing any problems really but it just feels weird and I%26#039;m a bit worried about losing too much enamel.





Also some people have suggested to me that I should take legal action against my old dentist should I? One little filling has caused all this trouble...

Repairing damage from Teeth Grinding?
I disagree with Jojo.





You are NOT partly to blame. When a dentist completes a restoration, he should check your occlusion before you leave. He cannot rely on an accurate verbal response from YOU because YOU ARE FROZEN!





If the the tooth was overfilled, the dentist should have the skills to identify it and correct it before the patient leaves.





If the dentist reduces the filling too much, after checking the patient%26#039;s occlusion, he would have recognized that he reduced too much filling or enamel. He cannot merely send the patient home and hope he never hears from the patient again until the next recall appointment. If a dentist creates a problem, he has an ethical responsibility to correct the problem.





Every time a dentist works on a tooth, he must first document the problem he is about to remedy. He must document whether or not freezing was used and the material he chose to fill the tooth with.





He must document the RETURN of the patient for occlusal adjustment and document the fact that the reason for the patient%26#039;s return was because the filling was too high.





If the patient returns AGAIN, he must now document her complaint regarding malocclusion and grinding along with the associated wear patterns. He must document that the patient believed that too much filling or emamel was reduced at the previous visit.





If his previously existing documentation PRIOR TO THE PLACEMENT OF THE RESTORATION is accurate, he would have the wear patterns already documented IF they were already there prior to the patient%26#039;s current complaint. If the wear patterns are indeed the result of his over-reduction of a filling, then there would be NO previous record of occlusal wear. The patient would at this point HAVE A LEGAL CASE.





When a patient clenches and grinds the teeth, the following is a list of events that can occur:





- wear facets, noted by smooth, flat bevelled surfaces on the tooth, or, circular, smooth indentations on the chewing (occlusal) surfaces.





- incisal wear, which is wear on the biting edges of your front teeth, upper or lower.





- enamel fractures which might not be immediately evident (which is why you might want to retain a lawyer)





- enamel cusps breaking off





- dentin exposure and resulting hypersensitivity to biting on seeds, nuts and similarly textured foods as well as sensitivity to sweets and some acidic foods





- dentin exposure which makes the tooth more susceptible to decay because dentin is softer than enamel





- TMJ dysfunction





- aching teeth





- over the long term you can experience bone loss around the roots of your teeth





- over the long term you can cause various teeth to abscess which would require root canal therapy followed by the placement of porcelain crowns.





- over the long term you can experience shifting teeth





- worn teeth will require restorations that can range from amalgam or resin fillings all the way to porcelain crowns








Whether or not you persue this from a legal standpoint is entirely up to you. If you do, do it because you feel that the consequences of his dentistry HAS caused you real harm, that you DO see significant changes in your occlusion and physical appearance (wear) on your teeth.





The cost of a lawyer is negligible compared to the cost of ongoing dental care that resulted from neglect.





You also have the option of writing a letter that contains your concerns and experiences to the dentist%26#039;s licencing body. They cannot provide you with money, but they can investigate your case and order ongoing treatment to mitigate the damage to your teeth even if you choose to have the services provided elsewhere.





***** Grinding teeth, other than the one just filled, in order to correct the occlusion is completely unacceptable!!! This is particularly true if there was NO MALOCCLUSION prior to the placement of the restoration!!! The dentist just dug himself an even DEEPER HOLE from a legal standpoint!!!***
Reply:you will get used to it wait til you get older it only gets worse so brush brush brush
Reply:Taking legal action also costs money. Its not as simple as filing a complaint. The more practical recourse is to simply demand that your dentist make the necessary adjustment.





In fairness to your old dentist, as fas as I know, making a cavity filling is more or less subjective, because the patient is the one who %26quot;feels%26quot; more if the repair was done right. There really is no standard, each person%26#039;s dental condition is more or less unique to the individual. (That is why it is also considered as an identification of the person). Having said that, then I%26#039;m pretty sure when you had your cavity repair, your dentist instructed you to close your mouth and bite if the repair was ok. You are also in part to blame if you said yes.





About the teeth grinding - a dental appliance - a mouthguard - molded to your bite could be a solution. It%26#039;s custom built to your fit. I am using one, because I have the same problem. You are right, you can lose too much enamel.



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