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Preventing Acid Damage to Your Teeth

Much has been written about preventing tooth decay, teeth sensitivities and gum problems but little attention is actually given to preventing acid damage to your teeth. This problem is commonly known in the field of dentistry as acid erosion. Dr. Stephen K. Malone makes it a point to include acid erosion in his Knoxville preventive dental care instructions. Read on below for a chock full of valuable information about acid erosion and how to prevent it.

What Acid Does to Your Teeth
The acid from  your body could either come from the food you eat or from within your own body. The acid tends to corrode both the enamel and dentin parts of your teeth. The enamel is your teeth’s outer layer while the dentin is the innermost and softer part.

Acid marks are quite common on the enamel portion of the teeth, making it look edgy. Chronic pain in acid erosion is not common but sensitivity to hot and cold may always happen.

Prevention of Acid Erosion
When thinking about preventing acid erosion, you might want to know about the 2 main sources of acid. The first source includes the food you eat while the second source is the acid which regurgitates from the stomach into your mouth. The latter is often associated with heartburn and indigestion.

1. Modifying acid intake in your diet. This preventive measure is particularly useful when it comes to drinking sodas which could be really quite acidic.

2. Eat mindfully and do not rush your mealtimes. Provide adequate time for eating, chewing and digestion. In relation to this, do not put food into your mouth when you are not done chewing and swallowing the previous set of food.

4. When you already feel full, stop eating. Do not pressure yourself to everything there is on your plate. Also, you might want to have smaller portions to avoid waste of food once you feel full.

The last 3 preventive measures are meant to prevent acid reflux and regurgitation to your mouth. While these prevention tips are quite simple, they have significant effects over time.