When you attend for your dental health check, one of the things your dentist will check for is tooth damage caused by acid erosion. In the last few years, we have noticed a big increase in the number patients showing signs of acid wear. Please read below for advice on how to reduce your risk.
Advice
to Reduce Dental Erosion
Acid wear of teeth and tooth hyper
sensitivity is not a rare occurrence in today’s society.
- 29% of
18-35 year olds in Europe have significant tooth wear.
- 2 in 5
young adults have tooth sensitivity.
Erosion of teeth is associated with fresh
fruit, fruit drinks, smoothies, isotonic drinks, carbonated drinks, alcohol
consumption, fruit yoghurts and tea. Also stomach problems, leading to
heartburn, can cause tooth erosion.
Anything that reduces salivary flow can
also lead to an increased risk of acid erosion. This can be a problem for
smokers and patients on certain medications.
In Order to Reduce Your
Risk of Erosion
1.Decrease
the amount of acidic foods and drinks in your diet.
2.We do not
want to stop you eating healthy fruit therefore we advise a reduction in
frequency of meals and snacks. Try to have fruit based foods and drinks
all together rather than snacking throughout the day.
3.Drink
acidic/erosive drinks through a straw.
4.Stop
smoking.
5.Use fluoride
mouth rinses between brushing.
Treatments for erosion/hyper sensitivity are
available from ourselves. These can include:
- Sealing
teeth
- Fluoride
treatments
- Filling
in eroded cavities
- Desensitisers
