Skip to main content

Avoid Tooth Erosion from Acid Reflux!

Maybe the discomfort you're feeling after too much fun at a football match simply is indigestion. But if you regularly experience spells of acid reflux disease, you may need to take action to protect your teeth. If left untreated, this condition can lead to serious complications with tooth erosion.

Normally when you swallow, the food and drink travels from your mouth, down your esophagus and into your stomach, where the stomach acids begin digestion. A muscle connecting your esophagus and stomach opens and closes to allow food into your stomach and keep stomach acid out of your esophagus.

Acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease occurs when this muscle weakens and allows the stomach contents to flow back up into your esophagus. You may feel a burning pain in your chest, neck, and throat (heartburn), a sensation of food coming back into your mouth, and a lingering acidic or bitter taste.

Your teeth are protected by a thin layer of hard tissue called enamel. Usually your saliva can help maintain the natural pH balance (levels of acid or alkaline) in your mouth, wash away food particles, and rebuild the minerals in your teeth. But sometimes, highly acidic foods, drinks, and drugs can overwhelm saliva's beneficial effects and soften the tooth enamel.

Over time, these highly acidic substances, as well as the stomach liquid from acid reflux, can erode the enamel. When the enamel wears away, the sensitive inner dentin layer of the tooth is exposed, and this can lead to additional, serious complications with the health of your teeth and mouth.
Symptoms of tooth erosion include:
- Pain or irritation in your mouth
- Sensitivity to certain foods and drinks, especially hot, cold, or sweet
- Sharp tooth edges
- Darkening teeth
- Thinning or shortened teeth
Your cosmetic Dentist in Preston recommends the following treatments;
To prevent acid reflux disease or help treat its symptoms, follow these guidelines:
  • Avoid fried or fatty foods, peppermint and spearmint, chocolate, alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, citrus fruits and juices, pickles, yogurt, vinegar, garlic, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. If any of these are favorite foods, limit them to occasional, small indulgences.
  • Enjoy smaller, more frequent meals rather than eating large quantities at once.
  • Drink plenty of water, and chew sugarless gum to help stimulate saliva.
  • Do not smoke.
If tooth erosion is apparent, we may need to treat the situation by restoring your teeth or replacing worn fillings. We may also discourage the use of harsh tooth whiteners if tooth erosion is escalating. If your tooth enamel is severely worn away, your cosmetic dentist may need to recommend crowns or veneers to restore your bite and protect the health of your teeth.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cosmetic Dentistry Preston Can Help You Look Better.

Cosmetic Dentistry Preston Research shows that your smile is your single greatest social asset? A beautiful smile can greatly increase your chances of success, professionally and personally. Here’s the thing, though – whether you need Dental implants to replace missing teeth, cosmetic dentistry or general dentistry, it’s important you choose a dentist with whom you feel comfortable, and who has the skills to deliver that great looking smile. Cosmetic Dentistry is more than the art of painting a new smile. It encompasses mimicking natures’ beauty, providing a picture perfect smile presentation by applying science and modern technologies. Cosmetic Dental Treatments are a blend of modern General Dentistry and Smile Makeovers. In providing a high level of Cosmetic Dental every day, we have developed systems that give you informed and guaranteed results. From the planning through to the delivery, your treatments will be coordinated, informed and honest. If we would...
36 comments
Read more

Holistic Dentist in Preston : Beyond regular Dental Health

More and more, health conscious people are turning to natural medicine and holistic dentistry for their dental health care needs. In general, holistic dentists try to treat the underlying cause of disease by using the safest and least toxic forms of dental care possible Holistic Dentistry is essentially an approach to dental treatment, primarily caring for patient's health and safety from both a conventional as well as an "alternative dental care" point of view. In holistic dentistry, the aim is to find bio-compatible materials to use, in order to reduce the toxicity for everyone, especially the chemically sensitive. For instance Amalgam fillings (mercury Fillings) are avoided in holistic dentistry because of concern about possible toxicity problems. A holistic dental practice is constructed upon few basic principles; Never treat when you can prevent or heal instead  To Place safeguards to protect against exposure to known toxins like mercury Use non...
33 comments
Read more

Preston Cosmetic Dentist Utilizes New State-of-the-Art Dental Technology for the Ultimate Patient Comfort

Advancements in new dental technology offer better solutions for traditional oral health problems than ever before. The trend in modern dentistry is utilizing technology to make dentistry more comfortable, durable, efficient and natural-looking for the patient as possible. These dental advances play an important role in the comfort of the patients as well as the dentists, dental specialists, and hygienists, at Dental practice Preston, allowing them to provide the highest standard of dental care possible. Cosmetic Dentistry is the specialized aspect of modern dentistry that focuses on the enhancement of the natural beauty and appearance of the teeth, gums and the smile. Things have to work right before they can look good to gain longevity. If you control the forces that cause teeth to breakdown they will last much longer. Cosmetic Dental treatment is based on artistic creation in a framework of science that requires extensive knowledge and experience to be done correctly. A cos...
22 comments
Read more