Dental Acid Erosion & Youtube Video

Dental Acid Erosion

You are what you eat and your teeth are too!

Dental Acid Erosion is a major problem today. Healthier diets mean cutting down on fats, carbs and salt and so on leaving us with higher fibre diet with healthier food and drink. Right? Well maybe.

Many of these healthy nice things[ pics of grapefruit, oranges, yoghurt] are on the acid side. Some are very acidic. Just like eating or drinking too much sugary food and drink, too often, will lead to tooth decay, acidic diets lead to tooth erosion. Here the tooth enamel simply dissolves away, changing the shape of the teeth often in a particular way.

So what are acid foods?

Well in general these are obvious- Anything sour is very acidic: Lemons, grapefruit and all citrus fruit and their juices. Also vinegar, pickles and colas are all acidic too.

Now some of these foods, eaten sometimes, are fine and some are important for their Vitamin C and fibre content, but excessive amounts taken frequently are where the problems begins.

Did you know other things are also quite acid:

• Yoghurt
• All fizzy drinks
• Even fizzy water is slightly acidic.

So what harm does acid erosion cause?

Well to start with only very slight changes in the teeth occur. Often so slight that only a trained eye can spot it. The teeth start to get very smooth and more rounded. They start to lose their proper shape, The pointy bits (cusps) get blunted.

Eventually more obvious signs happen. Back teeth get flatter or jagged on top and also on their sides

Front teeth get thinner either from the front 

or the back or both

and eventually the teeth get shorter too!

 

In the picture above the two left hand front teeth have beeen rebuilt to their original length. The two right hand front teeth show how acid erosion has shortened them.

 

On back teeth, little hollows start to appear in the tops and at the sides too.

These may stain or may stay the normal colour. Once the enamel cover has disappeared, it can never grow back and once it is gone, the sensitive dentine underneath is exposed, so anything cold to eat or drink causes sensitive or painful teeth. The little hollows get deep and wider until the remaining thin enamel starts chipping off. In turn this alters the bite level and eventually the whole facial profile.

So what can be done about it?
Prevention is better than cure.

1. Don’t overdo the frequency of acidic foods and drink.
2. Use a fluoride mouthwash and toothpaste to harden the enamel against dissolving
3. Don’t brush immediately after an acid tooth bath- instead just have a swish of plain water as soon as possible to dilute the acid. 
4. Other products such as Tooth Mousse®, replace lost calcium but needs to be used almost before any sign are seen.

BUT If the erosion is advanced then this will often require extensive and expensive dentistry to reconstruct the worn teeth so please keep your acid diet under control. Here is an example of how we can treat Acid Erosion:



If you can't see the video here, please watch on YouTube.

This may involve crowns, veneers or ceramic onlays to cover and protect the damaged enamel and also to return the beauty and harmony of the smile as well as improve comfort and chewing ability.

 What else can cause acid erosion?

Well if its not food or drink, then the only other place for acid to come from is the stomach. Some people have acid gastric reflux, heartburn or hiatus hernias. These all cause acidity in the mouth and the usual pattern is for the back surfaces of teeth to be affected.

Also all dentists are seeing cases of Bulimia (nervosa). So self-induced vomiting can have a catastrophic affect on teeth depending on how long it goes on for.

Other medical condition, including pregnancy can cause repeated vomiting which can have the same effect, though this is often only for a few weeks and months, not for years.

If you think you , or someone you know might be suffering from acid erosion of the teeth then contact your dentist or call us on 01635 47757