Tag Archive for ‘Acid’
Preventing Tooth Decay, Acid Erosion
I got the following email from an Oral Answers reader asking about the difference between acid erosion and tooth decay. He writes: “What is the difference between acid erosion and tooth decay? How to I ensure that I minimise both of these. Also which is the best toothpaste to use to prevent this, I have [...]
Four Factors That Determine If Acids Will Dissolve Your Teeth
In 1942, the average American drank the equivalent of 60 12-ounce cans of soda per year. In 2004, that number increased nearly 10-fold to 576 12-ounce cans of soda per year. That averages out to 1.6 12-ounce cans every day for each man, woman, and child in the United States. (Source) Although soda pop is [...]
How to Drink Soda Pop and Keep Your Teeth Happy
Some dentists might say that in an ideal world, nobody would drink soda pop. In my view, in an ideal world, everyone would drink soda pop — it just wouldn’t hurt your teeth! Of course, we don’t live in that ideal world and it’s important to know that soda pop does pose a serious threat to [...]
The Four Ways Your Teeth Get Worn Down
When teeth first come into the mouth, they are in pristine condition and come complete with mamelons, remnants of the tooth’s development. Over time, our teeth get worn down. Some people wear their teeth down more than others. There are four main ways that we wear down our teeth: Abrasion, Attrition, Erosion, and Abfraction. If [...]
What Happens In Your Mouth Every Time You Eat or Drink
Did you know that you are the life of the party? Every time you eat fermentable carbohydrates, millions of bacteria in your mouth shout for joy as they snack on the food that you are eating. There’s just one small problem: after they’re done eating, they need to use the restroom. Since there’s no toilet [...]
Don’t Let Your Teeth Get Hurt This Cold & Flu Season
Three weeks ago I got a cold. I was just getting over it when we went up to Maine, and right when we got back I got sick again. I’m finally getting better, but my oral hygiene has been less than stellar over the past few weeks! Now that the days are getting colder and [...]
How Saliva Protects Your Teeth
A couple of years ago, my wife and I were on a walk near our community’s park. A baseball game was taking place on the baseball field and we stopped to watch. I noticed that some of the players were constantly spitting into the dirt near the dugout. It took almost all of the self-control [...]
Alkaline Water: Is It Good For Your Teeth?
Have you heard of alkaline water? If not, you might soon hear about it from a multi-level-marketer near you. Earlier this week, I talked with an alkaline water marketer for five or ten minutes about it. He talked about all of the benefits of alkaline water and even called it “nature’s water” or something similar [...]
Is Sparkling Water Bad For Your Teeth?
Lately, my wife and I have been trying to kick our habit of carbonated beverages with sugar and artificial sweeteners. To fill the void, we’ve started sampling various types of seltzer water, club soda, sparkling water, and carbonated mineral water. Our favorite, although a bit expensive for our tight dental student budget is Perrier Lemon [...]
How to Identify Acidic Foods and Drinks
Food companies are able to sneak acids into lots of the foods we eat. On Wednesday, I wrote about the three dangers of eating acidic, sticky candy such as Sour Patch Kids. I listed a small number of acidic candy that it would be wise to consume in limited amounts. The major problem with that [...]
Sour Patch Kids: Your Teeth’s Worst Enemy
One of my favorite things to eat as a kid was Sour Patch Kids. I remember the first time my mom gave me some; it was love at first taste. I would save up my money and buy them in bulk at the store. That was part of the blissful innocence of childhood. If I [...]
Try To Keep Your Teeth Below Freezing
Inside of your mouth everyday there is a war going on. Tiny bits of your teeth become casualties to the acidic weapons of your plaque. If you take good care of your teeth, the tooth structure that is lost can be replaced and your teeth can remain healthy. If you don’t take care of your [...]
The Five Sugars That Hurt Your Teeth
Did you know that carbohydrates are really sugars? Carbohydrates are just long chains of sugars hooked together. Fortunately, the bacteria in our mouths can’t break down those long chains of carbohydrates. However, the bacteria in our mouths do love to feed on the monosaccharides (simple sugars) and the disaccharides (sugars that are links of two [...]
Hi, I'm Tom. I'm currently a 4th year dental student in the USA. I started this blog to help people take better care of their teeth. You can 
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