If reflux, heartburn, eating-disorder recovery or other clinically pronounced acid sources have thinned your enamel: we rebuild it additively — even with advanced substance loss, without crowns, without grinding. You set the pace, you decide every step.
Dental erosion is the chemical loss of tooth enamel through acid — unlike caries, which is caused by bacteria. With clinically pronounced erosion, the sources are usually endogenous or structural: chronic diagnosed reflux, silent reflux without heartburn symptoms, eating-disorder recovery (bulimia or anorexia), post-traumatic devitalisation. Up to 33% of heartburn patients show measurable enamel loss — the dentist often recognises the erosion before reflux disease is diagnosed by an internist.
At Scan ’n’ Smile in Straßlach-Dingharting / Munich South, we treat erosion with the 3-Step Technique after Vailati & Belser — additive, without grinding, with maximum preservation of your remaining substance. We scan with our Trios 4 from 3Shape, plan the rebuild volume with SmileCloud (on-screen preview), apply the planned shape directly inside your mouth as a trial (Test Drive, reversible) and only then, after your approval, build it up definitively layer by layer — in the Two-Layer Technique (a two-layer build-up like the natural tooth). In parallel, we coordinate with your gastroenterologist or your therapeutic support — interdisciplinary treatment instead of symptom plasters.
If your acid exposure is primarily caused by diet and lifestyle (smoothies, sports drinks, apple cider vinegar, balsamic): on our page on lifestyle-related acid damage you'll find the right entry point.
Reflux. Heartburn. Silent reflux. Eating-disorder recovery. You have a diagnosis. What you don't have: a clear answer about what now happens to your teeth. The enamel is getting thinner, the incisal edges become glassy and translucent, the teeth react sensitively. In the mirror you see what is happening inside your mouth. And the next question is already on the table: does this now have to be treated with a full crown reconstruction?
No. As long as substance is still there, we can additively give back what the acid has taken from you — enamel-friendly, without sacrificing further substance. You keep your own teeth, supplemented by exactly the layers that are missing. Repairable as needed. Expandable should the acid source become active again.
Imagine your teeth having again the length and play of light they had before the illness. You bite into an apple unworried, you drink hot tea without flinching. That is exactly where we will take you.
The right time is now — while there is still enough of your own substance left. As long as your enamel has merely become thinner and the dentin is still protected, we can build additively — additive, no grinding, fully repairable. If you wait until teeth are structurally lost (deep defects into the dentin, pulp involvement, fractured incisal edges), the additive rebuild becomes a root canal treatment, a crown, in extreme cases an implant. The treatment effort and cost then no longer rise linearly — they multiply. And your own substance is then irretrievably gone.
If you recognise yourself in two or more points: let's talk. In the free first consultation we'll clarify what stage your findings are at and which protective or rebuild measure now suits you.Book online
With our AI tool, you can use a photo of your front teeth to make visible where acid has already attacked the enamel — supplementary information ahead of the first consultation.
Note: the image is an aid and serves your information. It does not replace a detailed clinical analysis.
Around 70% of all bulimia patients have teeth damaged by erosion. You are not alone — and you don't have to wait until the underlying condition is "completed" before doing something for your teeth. We help right away, with reversible protective and stabilising measures that protect your remaining substance now — while you are working on the underlying condition.
Which measure suits you we'll discuss in person. Dr. Sebastian Zwinge and Dr. Daniela Zwinge look after this indication together — keeping function, aesthetics and biology in view. The definitive Two-Layer treatment (front teeth, bite height) only comes after the underlying condition has been stabilised — the quality-of-life help is available from the very first appointment.
The Scan ’n’ Smile concept is not just about rebuild. It is also encouragement: a smile that no longer reminds you, but shows how far you've come. You only share what you want to share — discretion is the foundation.
With clinically pronounced erosion, the classic reflex is a crown — but it sacrifices healthy remaining substance that you actually still have. Our way is the opposite: we give the tooth back what the acid has taken from it. Additive. Without grinding.
Our concept for this is called Scan ’n’ Smile. It links four steps into one continuous treatment experience: digital scan with on-screen preview → Test Drive of the planned shape directly in your mouth → definitive build-up in our Two-Layer Technique → interdisciplinary coordination with your medical support. The methodological basis is the internationally established 3-Step Technique after Vailati & Belser (University Dental Medicine of Geneva, since 2005), which we combine, within Scan ’n’ Smile, with modern digital workflow technology and our Two-Layer build-up.
Scan ’n’ Smile begins with a digital scan of your current findings — micrometre-precise with our intraoral scanner. We design your restored smile together on screen — you are co-designer, not spectator. Then the Test Drive: the planned shape directly placed provisionally in your mouth, you feel it, you go to the mirror, you say what should be different. Reversible. Only when you agree do we move on.
Erosion often lowers the bite height — usually unnoticed. As part of Scan ’n’ Smile, we additively build up the chewing surfaces of the back teeth quadrant by quadrant, so that the original bite height is restored. Dr. Sebastian Zwinge here oversees the occlusion and the movement patterns — a bite-height correction without functional control is risky.
The front teeth get back their lost shape and translucency. We build them up in the Two-Layer Technique — our two-layer build-up like the natural tooth: a dense material on the inside for depth and colour, a translucent material like natural enamel on the outside for play of light and shine. This way we mimic what the acid has taken from you.
Erosion does not stop through the rebuild alone — the causal therapy of the underlying condition is part of the Scan ’n’ Smile treatment. On request, we coordinate with your gastroenterologist (for reflux/GERD) or with your therapeutic support via the DGPM (in recovery situations). In pronounced cases we make a protective splint for the night. Dr. Sebastian Zwinge and Dr. Daniela Zwinge look after this indication together.
Scan ’n’ Smile with composite is our fast, additive, enamel-friendly and repairable variant — for moderate erosion, with fair pricing and maximum reversibility. It is not the only tool we have for erosion damage.
For pronounced defects, complete full reconstruction, strong functional load (bruxism + erosion combined) or when maximum longevity and the highest optical quality matter to you in particular, treatment with ceramic is often the still higher-grade choice. We use it minimally invasively — as an onlay/overlay veneer, not as a full crown — and stay true to the additive guiding principle.
Within our Scan ’n’ Smile concept, we can combine composite and ceramic: composite, for example, on the front teeth for the fast, finely controllable aesthetic shape; ceramic on the back teeth for the definitive bite raise and highest load. We make the decision together — based on depth of findings, aesthetic goal, load and budget. You are co-designer in this material choice too.
Both routes are part of our Scan ’n’ Smile concept. Which one is right for you we'll clarify after on-screen preview and Test Drive — before deciding definitively.
The 3-Step Technique after Vailati & Belser (University Dental Medicine of Geneva, established since 2005) is today the clinical standard for the additive treatment of erosion patients. Five-year studies show, with a minimally invasive approach, an almost complete preservation of function and substance compared to crown-based restorations.
In Germany, Prof. Dr. Daniel Edelhoff (LMU Munich) is the central voice for minimally invasive bite-height reconstruction with tooth-coloured restorations — his concept for treating erosion patients without preparation is the standard for exactly the indication we implement at Scan ’n’ Smile.
Dr. Sebastian Zwinge has himself researched and published at LMU Munich under Prof. Edelhoff on the optical properties of dental polymers — that is, on exactly the material properties that today determine the aesthetic result of composite restorations:
Güth JF, Zuch T, Zwinge S, Engels J, Stimmelmayr M, Edelhoff D: Optical properties of manually and CAD/CAM-fabricated polymers. Dental Materials Journal 2013; 32(6): 865–871. PMID 24240888.
This knowledge of the translucency and fluorescence of polymers feeds directly into the build-up of your front teeth — especially with erosion, where the play of light at the incisal edges has been lost. Methodological basis of our Two-Layer Technique: Bazos P, Magne P. Bio-Emulation: a step toward biology-based esthetic dentistry. Eur J Esthet Dent 2011;6:8-19. PMID 21403924.
Erosion shows itself to varying extents — costs are graded by the treatment required:
Statutory cover is available — the prices stated refer to the Scan-&-Smile private treatment. In pronounced cases we additionally recommend an individual protective splint — separately listed in the treatment and cost plan. The additional cost for the higher-quality adhesive treatment (3-Step Technique, Two-Layer, preview + Test Drive) we agree individually via a private cost agreement (MKV). All prices are non-binding ranges. Binding treatment plan after clinical assessment.
With good care and cause-oriented support, composite lasts 5–10 years, often longer — and can be repaired and refreshed as required, without complete replacement. If the acid source remains active (e.g. untreated reflux), the new material will also be attacked — which is why the cause is as important as the rebuild itself. With an active acid source, we additionally protect with a splint.
For more pronounced defects or maximum longevity (15–25 years), we offer ceramic restorations as a second pillar — minimally invasive as onlay/overlay, not as a full crown.
The earlier we treat, the less we have to treat. As long as your enamel has merely become thinner, we can build additively — no grinding. With advanced structural substance loss, the additive rebuild becomes a root canal treatment, a crown or an implant. The right time is now.
Free first consultation · On-screen preview + Test Drive beforehand · Transparent treatment and cost plan · Protective splint, where required, separately plannable · Discreet referral to gastroenterologists or therapists on request
zwinge zwinge zahnmedizin
Gewerbestr. 17 · 82064 Straßlach-Dingharting · Munich South
Smoothies, sports drinks, apple cider vinegar, reflux without diagnosis — same philosophy, different tone.
To the treatment →Grinding, clenching — rebuild without crowns.
To the treatment →Position fits, shape doesn't yet?
To the treatment →Sport, accident, trauma — immediate help.
To the treatment →When sensible, when not.
To the treatment →You like to shape things, think additively and enjoy visible results? Become part of our team in Straßlach-Dingharting.
Apply now → zwinge-zahnmedizin-karriere.de