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tooth erosion

Preventing Tooth Decay, Acid Erosion

Oral Health & Hygiene

Jul 8, 2011

Lemon Citrus Can Cause Tooth Acid Erosion — ©Silvia Bukovac/Shutterstock.com

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 heard of duraphat (Note from Tom: Duraphat is a fluoride product marketed as Duraflor in the United States) which i know helps with decay and pronamel which helps with erosion but I do not know if both help with both.”

The Difference Between Tooth Decay and Acid Erosion

Both tooth decay and acid erosion involve your tooth structure getting dissolved. The main difference between tooth decay and acid erosion is the source of the acid.

In acid erosion, your teeth are dissolved by acidic foods, drinks, or environmental sources of acid that come into contact with your teeth.

To learn how to spot acids that eat away your teeth, read How to Identify Acidic Foods and Drinks.

Tooth decay, however is caused by millions of tiny bacteria that live on your teeth that excrete acid, which eats away at your teeth.

To learn more about these bacteria, read What Every Human Needs to Know About Plaque.

Preventing Tooth Decay and Acid Erosion

The second part of this reader’s question involved preventing tooth decay and acid erosion. The best way to prevent tooth decay is by getting rid of the bacteria on your teeth regularly through brushing and flossing. You might also want to learn about 12 weapons of plaque destruction and these 25 things that increase your risk of getting tooth decay.

Preventing acid erosion is as simple as not eating or drinking too much acid. You might be surprised to learn that many of the drinks we enjoy made this list of 9 acidic drinks that can dissolve your teeth.

As far as strengthening your teeth, most any toothpaste contains fluoride, which protects your teeth. It probably doesn’t matter which type of toothpaste you’re using as long as it contains fluoride and you’re brushing regularly.

Conclusion

Tooth decay is caused by acid from bacteria that live on your teeth. Acid erosion is caused by acids that you eat, drink, or otherwise expose to your teeth.

You can prevent tooth decay and acid erosion by brushing and flossing regularly and minimizing your intake of acidic foods and drinks.

Do you have any questions about tooth decay and acid erosion? I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

Is Sparkling Water Bad For Your Teeth?

Food & Drink

Jun 4, 2010

Sparkling Water Good for Your Teeth — ©Racorn/Shutterstock.com

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 carbonated mineral water.

Since I’ve recently written a lot about how the acids that we put in our mouths can erode the enamel on our teeth, I decided to do some research and find out if sparkling water can erode teeth. Luckily somebody else has already done the research!

Although sparkling water contains nothing more than carbonated water (perhaps with a few minerals) and natural flavors, I didn’t expect it to be as acidic as soda pop, which also can contain phosphoric acid. Unfortunately, sparkling water is still very acidic due to the carbonation which can combine with the water to form carbonic acid.

Yes, Sparkling Water Can Harm Your Teeth

Pellegrino Sparkling Water — Sparkling Water Can Damage Your Teeth

A group of researchers at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom wanted to find out if sparkling water can cause enamel erosion.

First, they measured the pH of the sparkling water and found that it has a pH of right around 3. To compare this with other drinks, you can view this article about the different drinks that erode our teeth.

They took some extracted teeth and placed them in glasses filled with different types of flavored carbonated waters.

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How to Identify Acidic Foods and Drinks

Food & Drink

May 28, 2010

How to Identify Acidic Foods and Drinks — ©Monticello/Shutterstock.com

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 list is that it’s not complete. If I were to list every single acidic food, it just might break the internet.

With that in mind, I decided to write a post about how you can figure out how much acid is found in the various foods you eat. As you read this, keep in mind that you don’t need to avoid all acidic foods, but it is important to know that when you consume acidic foods in large quantities, you can dissolve the enamel on your teeth.

How to Identify Acidic Foods and Drinks

There’s no place on the standard Nutrition Facts labeling to specify how acidic a food is. Luckily, all packaged food sold in the United States is required to list the ingredients that they contain.

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Nine Drinks that Can Dissolve Your Teeth

Food & Drink

Mar 1, 2010

Acidic Drinks Dissolve Teeth — © Rido/Shutterstock.com

Although teeth are the hardest parts of our bodies, they do have one weakness: they can be easily destroyed by acid. Acid is the weapon of choice that plaque use to ruin our teeth and they can be found in many of the drinks that we consume.

The acidity of substances is measured using the pH scale. The lower the pH a drink has, the more acidic the it is. Many common beverages have a low pH, which means that they contain a lot of acid.

Our saliva normally has a pH of right around 6.5, which is a healthy pH for the teeth. When the pH of our mouth gets to 5.5 or below, the enamel on our teeth starts to dissolve. When you drink something that has a pH lower than 5.5, it starts to eat away at your teeth. Of course, you can drink these drinks and still have healthy teeth, there are a lot of factors involved. I’ll get in to a few of them at the end of the list. Here they are:

Nine Drinks that Can Dissolve Your Teeth

1. Sports Drinks – While sports drinks are great for re-hydration, their acidic nature can cause them to be harmful to your teeth. The two leading brand names both have a pH of less than 3.

Powerade is the most acidic at a pH of 2.75
Gatorade has a pH of 2.95

2. Fruit Juice – Fruit juice is good for you, but if you have the option, it’s always best to eat whole fruits as they are better for your teeth, and contain fiber to help your digestive system. Here are the pH’s of some common juices:

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