Wear from grinding usually appears at the edges of the front teeth before anywhere else. The pattern follows from how the lower jaw moves rather than from any weakness in those teeth.
Chewing and grinding load the jaw differently
During chewing, force is applied largely vertically through the back teeth, where the broad chewing surfaces and multiple roots are built to receive it.
Grinding involves the lower jaw sliding forward and sideways while the teeth remain in contact, which produces horizontal force across the contacting surfaces.
Tooth structure resists compression far better than it resists this sliding action, so the same total force does more damage when it is delivered sideways.
Front teeth guide the movement
In most natural bites, moving the lower jaw forward brings the lower incisors up the back surfaces of the upper incisors, and this contact separates the back teeth.
That separation is protective during chewing, since it keeps damaging sideways loads off the molars.
During grinding the same mechanism concentrates all the sliding contact onto a small number of front teeth for extended periods, which is where the wear accumulates.
The signs appear before the person notices
Flattened incisal edges that match precisely between the upper and lower arches are a characteristic finding, since both surfaces wore against each other.
Small chips along the edges, a squared-off appearance to teeth that were once rounded, and increasing translucency at the edge all point the same way.
Grinding frequently happens during sleep, so many people are unaware of it until wear, sensitivity or jaw discomfort brings it to attention.
Several causes produce similar wear
Acid erosion softens enamel and accelerates any mechanical wear, which is why erosion and grinding often appear together and can be difficult to separate.
Teeth that meet unevenly can concentrate contact on a few surfaces, and habits such as holding objects between the front teeth produce localised damage.
Distinguishing between these matters because the management differs, and that assessment involves examining the pattern of contacts rather than the worn teeth alone.
Why restoring the edges is not the first step
Material added to a worn edge is subject to the same forces that removed the original tooth structure, and it is generally less durable than enamel.
Restoring before addressing the cause tends to produce repeated failures, which is why protection and cause are usually considered first.
A dentist is the appropriate person to assess wear, since deciding whether it is active or historical changes the approach entirely.