Apollonia House: How to have a healthy mouth this year

Ann-Marie Banks, from Apollonia House Dental and Health Care in Grasscroft, looks at how to avoid erosion on your journey to a healthier mouth.

Please feel free to call Apollonia House Dental and Health on 01457 821800 or email info@apolloniahouse.com for any dental questions or concerns you have. You can also visit their website.

As we make our New Year’s Resolutions one of them is usually promising ourselves to eat more healthily.

Let’s also protect our teeth in this journey towards healthy eating, a healthy mouth and a healthy body.

Erosion is the loss of tooth enamel caused by acid attack.

Enamel is the hard, protective coating of the tooth, which protects the sensitive dentine underneath.

Erosion usually shows up as hollows in the teeth and a general wearing away of the surface and biting edges.

When the enamel is worn away, the dentine, which is a darker, yellower colour, is exposed, which may lead to pain and sensitivity to heat and cold.

Every time you eat or drink anything acidic, the enamel on your teeth becomes softer for a short while. Your saliva will slowly get it back to its natural balance.

However, if this acid attack happens too often, your mouth does not have a chance to repair itself and tiny particles of enamel can be brushed away.

Acidity is measured by ‘pH value’ and anything that has a pH value lower than 5.5 is more acidic and can harm your teeth.

Fizzy drinks can cause erosion, and even diet brands are harmful. Even flavoured fizzy waters can have an effect if taken in large amounts, as they contain weak acids which can harm your teeth.

Acidic foods and drinks such as fruit and fruit juices, particularly citrus ones, contain natural acids which can be harmful, especially if you have a lot of them often.

Still water is the best drink for teeth, and milk is also good because it helps to neutralise the acids in your mouth.

There are a number of things you can do to prevent erosion:

Keep acidic products and fizzy drinks to mealtimes to reduce the number of acid attacks on your teeth
Drink quickly without holding in or ‘swishing’ around your mouth or use a straw to help drinks go to the back of your mouth and avoid long contact with your teeth