Enamel Erosion: How It Affects Your Teeth?

Food habits matter a lot! 

Eating and drinking the right foods & beverages and the way they are consumed is important not only for your overall health but also for your oral health.

Consuming too much acid in drinks and foods can corrode the dental enamel which forms the outside layer of your teeth, exposing the dentin that lies underneath.

Recent studies have proved that there is a rampant increase in the cases of dental erosion, making prevention more important than ever.

What is Enamel Erosion? 

Tooth Enamel is made of minerals like calcium and phosphate, along with bone and dentin. This enamel helps to prevent tooth decay and cavities.

Enamel or Dental erosion is a term used for the loss of the teeth due to acids in the foods you eat or drink, or from the acids that come up from the stomach, washing away the hard substance that makes up the teeth, leading to the loss of tooth surface.

The tooth surface can also be softened due to these acids, making them prone to wearing away by abrasion or teeth grinding.

This is also known as acid wear or erosive tooth wear. Bacteria that accumulate in the mouth can also lead to dental erosion.

Once gone, there is no way to get the enamel or bone back without replacing the tooth entirely.

Types of Dental Erosion 

1. Intrinsic Erosion

This is caused due to gastric acid & acid regurgitation due to medical or psychological issues. Many strong acids, used to digest food, are present in the stomach. These stomach acids can enter the mouth due to vomiting and acid reflux.

Being very strong, these juices can cause significant damage to the teeth, especially in people with bulimia, anorexia, morning sickness, or reflux.

2. Extrinsic Erosion

This is caused by dietary acids from what we eat and drink. Acidic things usually taste good. 

Common foods & drinks containing high levels of acid are: 

• Soft drinks including the sugar-free drinks
• Energy drinks
• Citrus fruits like lemons, limes, oranges, etc
• Kombucha
• Drinks or teas that are lemon flavored
• Fruit-flavored lollies and candies
• Fruit juices 
• Vitamin C tablets
• Vinegar
• Alcoholic Beverages 

Food acids often added to processed foods and drinks can be seen by checking the ingredient list of foods & drinks.

As the ingredients are listed in order of their amount in the food, the closer any food acids are to the start of the list, the more will be acid in the product.

A dental professional can guide you more about the care to be taken while making a choice. 

What are the Symptoms of Enamel Erosion?

Several things can be a sign of wearing down of enamel on the teeth:

• Teeth becoming worn down further
• Teeth become discolored because of the enamel wearing away and the dentin being exposed
• Wearing away the enamel can cause teeth to be sensitive to touch, air, food bite, and acid exposure.
• The front teeth may look transparent at the edges.

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