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Enamel, the protective outer layer of your teeth, plays a vital role in safeguarding your dental health. It serves as a robust shield, shielding your teeth from the daily wear and tear of biting, chewing, and exposure to various substances. However, despite its resilience, enamel can gradually erode over time due to factors such as acidic foods, improper oral hygiene practices, and certain medical conditions.
Thankfully, there are several effective strategies to prevent this occurrence. These include moderating the consumption of acidic foods, considering dental sealants under the guidance of your dentist at https://cimarronfamilydentistry.com/, and incorporating fluoride toothpaste into your brushing routine.
With that in mind, we have compiled the top 10 tips to steer clear of enamel erosion. If you’re aiming to uphold excellent oral hygiene, these suggestions are worth exploring.
- Eliminate Acidic Foods and Drinks
Cutting carbonated drinks and those high in citric acid radically cuts down on enamel erosion. When you do indulge, rinse out your mouth with water right afterwards.
- Use a Straw
When you drink anything with lots of sugar or something that’s highly acidic, try using a straw to direct liquid to the back of your mouth.
- Cut Back on Snacks
The food you eat also feeds bacteria and increases the risk of decay, so avoid snacking randomly through the day.
- Chew Gum
Chewing gum boosts saliva production. Why is that important? Because saliva contains minerals that strengthen tooth enamel. Pick sugar-free gum with xylitol to reduce acidity.
- Drink More Water
Water prevents dry mouth, washes away food particles, and helps keep up a healthy flow of saliva.
- Stop Grinding your teeth
Grinding your teeth during the day or while sleeping? Speak to your dentist to gain insight into the issue. With the help of professional expertise, you can understand if you’re suffering from a condition like Bruxism. Further, he or she can prescribe a Bruxism Mouthguard for you and provide corrective measures like massages to help ease the problem if that is indeed what you’re suffering from.
- Brush with Fluoride Toothpaste
Dentists recommend fluoride toothpaste because fluoride strengthens your teeth – that’s why it’s also added to drinking water in most developed countries.
- Speak to Your Dentist About Sealants
If you have concerns about enamel erosion and maintaining the health of your teeth, discussing the option of dental sealants with a dentist (you can find one at https://www.smilesthatrock.com/) could be beneficial. Dental sealants are a preventive dental treatment that can be applied to the chewing surfaces of your back teeth
— molars and premolars. They are particularly effective for children and teenagers, but adults can also benefit from them.
- Don’t Brush too Hard
You only need to apply a slight amount of pressure to your toothbrush to effectively clean your teeth. Pressing down too hard will only wear down tooth enamel.
- Don’t Ignore Acid Reflux Disease, GERD, or Heartburn
All these bring stomach acid into the mouth, and stomach acid very rapidly weakens and wears away tooth enamel.
If you’re concerned that you may have signs of enamel erosion, get in contact with a dentist today.