15 Jan Curb Eating and Drinking Habits to Prevent Tooth Enamel Erosion
Making regular visits to your family dentist is a surefire way to keep your teeth healthy, preventing cavities and other oral hygiene issues. One of the most common problems dentists come across is the decay and erosion of tooth enamel. Knowing the basics of enamel erosion will help you better understand how to prevent it, ensuring that your next visit to the dentist is a success.
Your tooth enamel can easily be worn away due to improper diets that result in a heavy sugar intake. Sugars aren’t the sole cause of decay, though. The sugar is needed by organisms in the mouth that will eventually release a harmful acid as they grow. So essentially, the more sugar we eat, the more these microscopic organisms will grow.
We’ve all heard from our family dentist and dental experts about the dangers of eating too much candy. Sour candies in particular are very bad for your teeth, as some of them contain enough acid to literally create small holes in your teeth, inviting drastic enamel erosion. While candy does indeed play a large role in providing sugar for these organisms, there are other harmful products that are just as bad.
For instance, it’s common knowledge that too much soda can play a huge role in enamel erosion and tooth decay, but sports drinks are just as bad due to their highly acidic make-up. Certain juices and even chlorinated water are also responsible for tooth enamel erosion. Even certain brands of medicine can cause erosion when they are chewed (these are typically any medicines containing chlorine).
Heavy alcohol consumption and tobacco use can harm your teeth just as badly as sodas. In both of these cases, when your mouth saliva levels drop, the pH level of your moth gets more acidic which prompts tooth decay.
The most basic way to prevent enamel erosion yourself is to cut back on all of these habits. Also, regular brushing and visits to your family dentist will keep harmful acids and sugars away, keeping your smile flawless.