The Comprehensive Guide for Tooth Enamel Erosion and Restoration

Are you wondering what tooth enamel is? To put it simply, this is that thin outer layer of each tooth and it also happens to be the toughest tissue in the human body. This enamel is meant to cover the crown of each tooth, which comprises the entire visible tooth over your gums.

Oftentimes, cigarette smoke, fruit juices, red wine, cola, tea and coffee tend to stain the enamel over your teeth, making them seem white, off white, yellowish or grey. With that said, the only effective preventative measure that could help keep your enamel healthy and clean is booking regular appointments with your Ottawa dentist.

In doing so, these experienced professionals will routinely clean and polish your teeth in order to remove surface stains until you can, once again, smile confidently.

Why Is It So Important to Protect Your Tooth Enamel?

If you consulted the best dentists in Ottawa, they would tell you that the enamel over your teeth is meant to protect it from daily activities such as grinding, crunching, biting or chewing. Even though your enamel is the toughest tissue in your body, it can be weakened with daily use until it finally begins to form chips and cracks. Additionally, your enamel also insulated your teeth from potentially damaging chemicals or temperatures.

Granted, every broken bone in the body can be repaired but when a tooth breaks or chips, it will be damaged or gone forever. Also, since the enamel is not made up of living cells, the body cannot naturally repair it if it gets damaged over time.

What Causes Enamel Erosion?

Tooth enamel erosion occurs when acids slowly wear them away upon consumption. Of course, this describes many different factors that cause erosion, therefore, we have compiled a list of the most common ones:

• Excessive consumption of soft drinks (since they consist of high levels of citric and phosphoric acids
• Fruit drinks (some of these drinks consist of acids that may be more corrosive than battery acid)
• Low salivary flow or dry mouth (xerostomia)
• Sugar- or starch-intensive diets
• Acid reflux disease (GERD)
• Genetics (inherited via genes)
• Medications (Aspirin, antihistamines)
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Other environmental factors (discussed in detail below)

What Other Environmental Factors Cause Tooth Enamel Erosion?

Stress, wear and tear, and friction (or a combination of any of these factors) can lead to erosion of your tooth’s surface. A few other clinical terms to describe these factors include:

• Attrition
• Abrasion
• Abfraction
• Corrosion

Other findings have suggested that bulimia is another common cause of tooth decay and enamel erosion. If you didn’t already know, bulimia is an eating disorder which is most commonly associated with many different sources of acids, vomiting and binge eating. For instance, frequent vomiting can erode the tooth enamel and, in turn, may lead to cavities.

How to Reverse these Effects?

Theoretically speaking, saliva plays an important role in developing your teeth until they are strong and healthy. Not only does it help support the health of our body’s tissues, but it also protects the enamel, which protects your teeth by coating it with calcium and other protective minerals.

Additionally, saliva is also known to dilute erosive agents, including acids, while removing food waste and other contaminants from inside the mouth. In broader terms, your saliva helps ward off mouth bacteria and serious health conditions.

There is no one-stop-shop solution for naturally boosting the production of saliva in our mouths. All you need to do is keep up with your dental hygiene or dentist-approved practices and the saliva will come naturally. When this happens, rich saliva will strengthen your teeth, even as you sip on fruit juices or acidic sodas.

Of course, if you go overboard, we’ll be back to square one.

Does Plaque Lead to Enamel Erosion?

Plaque signifies the sticky film that comprises bacteria, food particles and saliva, among other substances. It forms inside the tiny pits or holes in molars or in between the gaps of our teeth. In some cases, it also manages to get around our cavity fillings and into the border of our gum lines.

It is a common occurrence for the bacteria in plaque to morph food starches into acids. When this occurs, the acids over the plaque begin to eat away the healthy minerals that make up our tooth enamel.

Slowly, but surely, the enamel is worn down until it finally becomes pitted. If left unchecked still, these pits will keep growing in size until the tooth is completely gone.

Searching for the Best Dentist in Ottawa?

If you book an appointment with Pearlee Dental, they will do everything they can to restore your teeth to their full health. Our services begin from laying out careful treatment plans for our clients, following through and finally, also maintaining constant communication with them.

Go ahead and browse through our website to find out more or contact us by leaving us an email at info@pearleedental.ca or calling 613-695-9695.