BPS JPT FOR YOU: 5 Ways to Protect Your Teeth from Acid Wear

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

5 Ways to Protect Your Teeth from Acid Wear

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5 Ways to Protect Your Teeth from Acid Wear: "

Surprisingly, even those on a healthy diet are prone to acid wear of teeth. Unfortunately, acid-worn tooth enamel is being seen more and more frequently by dentists in their young patients, a worryingly escalating trend.^[1] Acid wear can make teeth more sensitive to temperatures and also makes your teeth more prone to decay.^[2] This article discusses some of the ways to approach protecting yourself from the possibility of getting acid erosion of your teeth and those of your family.

Steps

Be aware of the causes. Instigators of acid wear on teeth include:
- Regular and prolonged consumption of wine, fruit juices, soft/pop drinks and vinegar-based salad dressings^[3]
- Frequent grazing through the day on veggies and fruit
- Imbalanced eating patterns, for example, not eating something that counterbalances the acidity of fruit, such as nuts, at the time of eating the fruit
- Snack foods – many of them are acidic.
Cut down on acidic beverages. Reduce or eliminate your consumption of soda pops and soft drinks, fruit juices and wine. Large amounts of these beverages are not healthy for you for many reasons, so not only your teeth will benefit from reduced consumption, but also your nutrition status and your body's overall health. So-called 'sports drinks' in particular contain large amounts of citric acid.
Avoid grazing through the day. If you enjoy nibbling on food all day long, you may be endangering your teeth. The best solution is to ensure that the foods that you consume are either low in acidity or are combined with foods able to counteract the acidity and reduce your need for the acidic food. For example, consuming nuts with fruit or cheese with carrots may be one way to reduce the effects of acid wear. Nuts and dairy foods are considered helpful balancers to acidic foods.^[4]
Avoid brushing your teeth for one hour after consuming acidic food and drink. While this may seem counter-intuitive, acidic foods and drink soften the tooth enamel and leave it prone to damage from brushing. Wait an hour before brushing.^[5] It is also very important not to over brush your teeth any time; too much brushing is abrasive and wears down your teeth.^[6] Rely on dental floss and toothpicks in between morning and evening brushing.
Rinse your mouth with baking soda. To reduce the acidity in your mouth, rinse thoroughly and gargle with a spoonful of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) in water.
Use a straw. Reduce the contact of juice and soda drinks with your teeth by drinking through a straw. This is only a minor help, so don't rely on it as a major solution! The best approach is to reduce your overall consumption of fruit juice and soda drinks.

Video

Tips

Most of us know the feeling of fuzziness on our teeth after consuming cola. Why is this? It is because the phosphoric acid in cola has started to lightly etch your teeth. This is compounded by the carbonic acid caused by the carbonation of soft drinks.^[7]
Orange juice and other citrus juices contain natural acids - citric acid and ascorbic acid. It is recommended that you swallow and not chew vitamin C tablets.^[8]
Other sources of tooth erosion include those suffering from bulimia; constant vomiting or reflux causes acidic contents to be in frequent contact with the teeth.^[9]
Baby teeth are very vulnerable to acid erosion because the teeth have softer enamel than adult teeth.^[10]
Flavored waters should also be treated with care; those containing sugar or other additives may be as acidic as a soft drink.

Warnings

Do not ignore the signs of acid wear on teeth - increased sensitivity, roughness, discoloration etc. The sooner that you can have this seen to, the better.