Dissappearing tooth enamel

Factual Questions
1

What would cause otherwise healthy teeth to loose enamel?

(go to a dentist, ya ya ya, I will in 6-10 months when I can get the appt)

Picture normal teeth, with no signs of decay, but the enamel on hte backs is …just…gone. You can see the pulp in the tooth, and the white area around the pulp where the enamel USED to be.

I have a similar problem, I have no enamel on the ends of my teeth, they slowly wear down year after year. My almost 6 yr old has no enamel on the surface of his molars , or the backs of his front teeth. He prectices meticulous dental hygene, doesnt eat much sweets, had excellent nutrition. Could it be heriditary? I always thought my enamel problem was due to nail biting.
Anyone have any insight on this pending a real dental appt?

2

‘What got you into trouble?’ says the baldhead to t’other chap.
‘Well, I’d been selling an article to take the tartar off the teeth - and it does take it off, too, and generly the enamel along with it - but I staid about one night longer than I ought to, and was just in the act of sliding out when I ran across you on the trail this side of town, and you told me they were coming, and begged me to help you get off. So I told you I was expecting trouble myself and would scatter out with you. That’s the whole yarn - what’s yourn?’

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (Penguin Popular Classics, 1994, p. 122)

If you haven’t bought anything that’s supposed to be applied to teeth from a shady-looking character I can’t help you…

3

And assuming that you’re not chewing betel nut… :smiley:

A quick Google check shows no easy answers for why some people’s enamel wears down faster than others, or for why some people just have poor enamel formation to begin with. Prematurity may contribute to it in children, as may tetracycline at certain ages. Medications the mother took during the third trimester of pregnancy, especially tetracycline, can cause it. Inadequate Vitamin D can cause it.

Eating disorders in adults can cause it. If you’re bulimic and vomit a lot, eventually the regurgitated stomach acid starts to wear away your tooth enamel. If you’re anorexic, the disruption in your saliva flow, caused by not eating, messes up the microflora in your mouth and can screw up your enamel.

Grinding teeth in your sleep will wear down the enamel.

I don’t see any mention of nail-biting as a cause, offhand.

Overall, Kelli, I’m very uneasy with the thought of you putting off taking your son to a dentist to deal with this. For one thing, he’s at much greater risk for tooth decay with enamel missing.

Its technical term is “enamel hypoplasia”, if you want to look it up.

http://www.floss.com/q73.htm

4

Well, hardcore bulimics can have their enamel eaten away from all the stomach acid passing the teeth on the way out during a puke session.

A girl I know harmed her teeth badly doing that.

5

A friend of mine pretty much ruined his fron teeth because he liked to suck on lemons. Really.

6

For me it was Cherry Coca-Cola.

It’s also why I now believe in going to the dentist twice a year (had they caught it earlier, I wouldn’t be where I am today…of course the first dentist I told that my teeth hurt didn’t see anything - so, perhaps they wouldn’t have seen it then… but…)

When the dentist did catch it, he mentioned that it was often seen in cases of anorexia and bulemia. But it might also be due to malnutrition, things my mother may have taken while pregnant, things I may have eaten while young, things I might be eating now (he asked several times about lemons) acid reflux, heredity, and that I might just not have the right kind of saliva. Or possibly a combination of two or more of the above. (In fact, my nearly meticulous dental hygene might have contributed to the problem. Brushing keeps the saliva from doing it’s work, and the acid just erodes more (or something like that)).

Is it gone on molars that he’s going to lose in a few years anyway? Or on the permanent ones? When you say “surface” might sealants help? Also, could it just be that the enamel is a weird color, so you’re not actually seeing dentin (isn’t that what it’s called?) but just nearly transparent enamel? My dentist recommended seeing a physician about it (but seeing my teeth stopped hurting and the enamel level stabilized when I gave up Coke, it didn’t seem necessary). And that that may be more helpful in the long run.

Get professionals involved as soon as possible.

7

What a crack head, I forgot I posted this.

Thanks for the input everyone. He will begoing to a dentist, but the waiting list is 6 months at least…I am working on it.

therealblaze: you lost me

DDG, great input, He was full term, neither he nor I took any medications I can recall, he was an unusually healthy baby. He has probably vomited a dozen times in his whole life ( I thought about that too - the bulemia association) and AFAIK he doesnt grind, it COULD however be the way his bite is lined up. He HAS had chickenpox when he was two, and our city water is flouridated. Thanks for your concern, it is appreciated :slight_smile:

Bingo and Manduck, those possible causes have been eliminated, but thanks

Amarinth: Thank you for the insights, he doesnt drink much pop/soda, and what I can find on the internet suggests heredity as a possible factor as well. I am certain he is not lacking in anything as he eats an excellent diet, and he had blood work last year to eliminate the possiblity of defeciencys (sp) He was sleepy at school, I changed his bedtime, it eventually improved, bloodwork was in acceptable range across the board.

It is MUCH faster to see a doctor than a dentist around here, I will have the doc look at him - great idea!

It is defintiely not just discolored enamel, the enamel is gone, you can trace the edge of it with a finger.

He has one permanent tooth which I check daily, no sign of any trouble with it, there are no signs of cavities either, (so far so good!) The bottom teeth are fine, which leads me to suspect the angle of the bite. As it was the BACKS of the front top teeth that wore off first, it could be the way the teeth meet.

I am also switching him to a softer toothbrush (he uses a normal one now)

Thanks everyone for your input.

Kelli