How can we protect our teeth from acidic substances present in foods?
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
Each food item and snack you consume are packed up with certain acids. Lactic acid you get from milk, malic acid present in banana and other food acids are required for our human body. Our human body also easily accepts the naturally occurring food acids and responds differently to healthy and unhealthy acids.
Whether the acid is healthy or unhealthy, your teeth are vulnerable to them.
The food acids are effective to erode your teeth enamel (the harder & outer shell of a tooth) followed by weakening the teeth and eventually leads to a cavity.
Besides food items and vegetables, fruits, soft drinks (including fruit juices), soda, energy drinks also comprise various acidic components. They are also responsible for the acidic wear on your teeth.
Just think, we have mentioned most foodstuffs everyone consumes daily and stated that they had acidic substances that are harmful to the teeth. What will you do?
Will you avoid those and remain starve?
Or consume those and lose your teeth?
You don’t need to strive or weaken your teeth. Protecting your teeth even after taking highly acidic food is not a big task. To know more, scroll down the page.
1. Drink water at regular intervals
Water is an excellent and easily available thing to extract the acidic wear on your teeth.
Besides hydrating your body, water is helpful to neutralize the acid present in your mouth. It helps in increasing the salivary production which washes the bacteria, food debris along with the acidic particles in your mouth. It leads to enamel remineralization that results in strengthening of the enamel.
If you would like to get rid of acid attacks on teeth with water, follow these tips:
- Drink a small amount of water at regular intervals
- Rinse your mouth after each meal and eating fruits or candy
2. Consume more Calcium
Calcium is the most important mineral required to remineralize and strengthen a tooth enamel. You can get it by taking dairy products like milk, cheese. Butter, etc.
Dairy products are also helpful in neutralizing the damaging acids in your mouth. Hence it is better to finish your meals with a dairy product.
Similar to milk and cheese, you may also prefer certain non-dairy calcium-rich items like Soya, Paneer, Almonds, White Beans, Sesame Seeds, Spinach. These will help to strengthen the teeth enamel as well as bones.
3. Limit high-acid food and drinks
As mentioned at the beginning of this post. Highly acidic food particles like carbohydrate foods are responsible for enamel demineralization and enamel erosion.
Hence it is important to limit such food and drinks on your menu.
Processed foods, Candies, Avoid Soda, Sweetened beverages and other drinks that contain a high amount of sugar and acid levels. It is better to cut down them from your menu.
If you are a soda or soft drink lover, use a straw to drink those drinks. It will reduce the contact of the acidic substances in the drink with your teeth.
4. Prefer Fluoridated Toothpaste
We hope that you may hear this “Brush twice a day and floss regularly” more times when you read any blog post on dental tips.
Our dental team also endorse that but switch your brushing with a fluoridated toothpaste. Similar to calcium, Fluoride is also important to reinforce enamel and contribute to enamel remineralization.
5. Chew Xylitol Gums
Chewing gums are also an effective equipment to minimize the acid level and eradicate the acid wear on the teeth. Chewing gums are helpful in producing more saliva and maximize the salivary flow that cleans the bacteria and acidic substances on your teeth.
Prefer chewing gums containing Xylitol, a natural sweetening agent used instead of sugar to provide the sweet taste.
In general, our mouth is non-acidic and contains pH level 7 or above. When the acid level reduces due to various reasons, it will put your dental health at risk by eroding the enamel and produce acidic saliva. Unlike other organs, the teeth enamel does not contain living cells. Hence, it is not possible to recover or get back a damaged enamel.
If you really take care of your teeth, follow the mentioned tips to minimize the acid levels in your mouth.
If you are aware of any dental tip which we did not mention to neutralize acid in our mouth, please share with us in the comment section.
