Dietary Influences on Teeth

In previous articles I have discussed the worn dentition. What are the dietary influences on tooth longevity?

Teeth age along with the rest of the body, but I have seen teeth prematurely wear out for many reasons. Some teeth are diseased or traumatically damaged while others simply erode away. Let’s look at tooth erosion.

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body. The next hardest is bone. It changes during a lifetime. Tooth enamel formation is completed by the time it comes into the mouth. The enamel shell will become hardened and polished due to wear. It will chip and crack, wear and erode, and possibly decay. Unlike bone the tooth enamel will not grow back on its own once it has eroded.

Signs of erosion include hypersensitivity, dimples in the chewing surface of back teeth, cupping of the leading edges of your front teeth, shortening of the length, wear on non-functional areas of teeth, increased translucency of front teeth, loss of surface texture and a smooth glazed appearance to the tooth surface.

Chemical erosion can occur from gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) or eating disorders (Bulimia or Anorexia). More commonly chemical erosion occurs from the foods we eat. Cola drinks, carbonated sodas, grapefruit juice, apple juice, orange juice, lemonades, raisins, dried apricots, and pickles have all been shown to have moderate to severe erosive potential.

I enjoy consuming all of the items listed above and do not suggest to eliminate or change your diet dramatically. However, if the adult male drinks an average of 8.6 cans of soda a week then it is wise to not sip the sodas and constantly bathe the teeth for long periods of time. It is best to wash out the soda with a glass of water afterwards. If children are attached to sippy cups don’t fill them with fruit juice. Milk is a better choice and has a low erosive effect on their teeth. Remember that it is the frequency of exposure that matters.

Home remedies include use of toothpastes with fluoride additives. Some toothpastes (Sensodyne ProNamel) are formulated to recharge the tooth surface with fluoride to make it less affected by chemical erosion. These are available over the counter. Other toothpastes actually restore the calcium content and harden soft spots or early cavities. Presently, these dentifrices (Recaldent and MI paste) can only be purchased through your dental office and are more expensive than your regular toothpastes. However, I do believe that in the long run the cost savings will be tremendous.

For those of us who have “weak” teeth it is especially prudent to consider what we can do to make them stronger and what we can do to prevent weak or susceptible teeth from erosion. Likewise, for people who have had appreciable dental work performed it is imperative to prevent our dental work from failing due to breakdown and leakage-just another form of erosion.

Being conscious of how we consume foods will prolong our good dental health.