The enamel on your teeth is the hardest substance in your body. The enamel’s strength enables you to bite tough vegetables and chew hard foods without damaging the more delicate interior of your teeth. Enamel also protects your teeth from decay. Despite being very hard, enamel is subject to continuous attacks and opportunities to rebuild. Actually, minerals are continuously being removed and then redeposited in your enamel. In this article I explain what things cause you to lose enamel and then ways you can help mineral restoration. Keeping the balance towards repairing tooth enamel will help you prevent tooth decay and help you keep your teeth for your whole lifetime.
Factors Causing Loss of Enamel
Several things contribute to the accelerated loss of minerals from enamel:
1. Acids in your food
Consuming acidic foods and beverages that lack minerals, such as soda pop and wine, can wear down your enamel. These acids soften the enamel, making it more easily worn away.
2. Inadequate brushing and flossing
Not brushing and flossing your teeth every day can lead to the buildup of plaque. The bacteria in that biofilm produce acids that further attack the enamel.
3. Bruxism
If you grind or clench your teeth, often during sleep, you can physically wear down enamel over time. Often people don’t know they are doing this until they visit the dentist.
4. Dry Mouth
Your saliva helps neutralize acids and wash away food particles. Any condition that causes you to produce less saliva will hasten enamel erosion. Certain medications have a side effect of reducing saliva and some diseases also have this effect. Diabetes, Sjogren’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s disease can all reduce saliva flow.
5. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Acid reflux can bring strong stomach acids into the mouth, leading to enamel erosion.
Factors Helping to Strengthen and Repair Enamel
While enamel cannot rebuild a chipped tooth, it can be strengthened through adding minerals back into the enamel. This list is basically the opposite of the above list of factors that cause you to lose enamel.
1. Fluoride
Fluoride is the dentist’s favorite tool for enamel strengthening. Fluoride works by attracting minerals like calcium and phosphate to redeposit into enamel. It is the calcium and phosphate that actually strengthen the enamel and make it more acid resistant. This is why dentists and public health officials love fluoride, but fluoride is still a neurotoxin and so I recommend a better, safer ways to repair tooth enamel.
2. Calcium and Phosphate
These minerals are what make your teeth’s enamel strong. So get more of these in your diet from foods that build health. Remember, “Eat foods, not too much, mostly plants.” Clean cheese and fermented dairy products, leafy greens and legumes are excellent dietary sources that are good sources of these minerals and build your health at the same time.
3. Daily brushing and flossing
Regular brushing at least twice a day and flossing once a day helps remove plaque and bacteria, reducing acid production in the mouth. Consider using Ora-Shield to protect your gums and break down the biofilm along the gumline.
4. Saliva
Making sure you have normal saliva production is crucial. You can do this by drinking plenty of water, chewing ylitol-containing gum (which helps prevent cavities as well), and consuming foods like apples and carrots that stimulate saliva flow.
Hydroxyapatite Instead of Fluoride for Repairing Tooth Enamel?
Hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral form of calcium apatite, is the main component of tooth enamel and dentin. Formulators have been adding hydroxyapatite to dental products for a long time to help remineralize and repair tooth enamel. But research suggests that the newer nano form is better than what has been traditionally been used. Nano-hydroxyapatite can:
– Repair microscopic defects in enamel. Nano-hydroxyapatite worked better than micro-hydroxyapatite for remineralizing cow teeth in a laboratory test.
– Strengthen enamel by integrating with the tooth surface. In a in vitro study nano-hydroxyapatite treatment of teeth performed better for recovering surface hardness after a cavity-causing challenge than fluoride varnish.
– Reduce tooth sensitivity. A meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials showed that nano-hydroxyapatite treatment for dental hypersensitivity worked better than placebo or other treatment.
Timing of Brushing in Relation to Eating
When you brush your teeth in relation to eating matters.
Before Eating
Brushing before meals removes plaque and food particles, which can reduce the amount of acid produced when you eat. It is the acid from bacteria in your mouth that cause a lot of damage.
After Eating
Brushing immediately after consuming acidic foods or drinks can actually damage softened enamel. It is recommended to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before brushing to allow saliva to neutralize the acids and re-harden the enamel. This may be inconvenient, but waiting just a bit will be helpful in the long run. Again, the more bacteria and plaque you have, the worse the effect is. Clean teeth don’t have as much trouble here.
Dietary Supplements for Strengthening and Repairing Tooth Enamel
Certain supplements can aid in the remineralization process and strengthen enamel:
1. Vitamin D
Having optimal vitamin D levels allows the body to absorb calcium at the maximum rate. Calcium supplements are not recommended. You want enough calcium, but you don’t want to become calcified, like a mummy. So, get your calcium from foods. Vitamin D comes from the UV light in sunshine. If you always use sunscreen you don’t produce vitamin D. Supplements of vitamin D are a great option in the northern hemisphere during the 8 months or so when the sun doesn’t produce enough UV light to make vitamin D in your skin.
2. Vitamin K2
Emerging research suggests that vitamin K2 may help direct calcium to the bones and teeth where it is needed most, rather than allowing it to deposit in soft tissues. Osteocalcin, a protein that is activated by vitamin K2, is found in the dentin and cementum layers of your teeth. Vitamin K2 can help strengthen the structure underlying the enamel and the layer that keeps your teeth in their sockets.
3. Magnesium
This mineral plays a role in the formation of hard tooth enamel and is involved in the structural development of bones and teeth. Magnesium is helpful for many of your body’s functions, so supplementing with this is a great idea for many reasons, including strong teeth.
4. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is actually necessary for strong bones and teeth. Vitamin C helps produce collagen, a major protein in bones and in the dentin and cementum portion of your teeth, below the enamel. So, like vitamin K2, vitamin C helps strengthen the structure of your teeth below the enamel and in the tooth roots.
The Effect of an Alkaline Diet on Saliva pH
There is some evidence that a diet rich in minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus—known as an “alkaline ash” diet—can help balance the body’s pH levels. “Alkalize or die” is the saying that goes with this theory. Eating this way may also positively impact saliva pH, which is crucial for enamel health.
Alkaline Diet Benefits
Foods that promote an alkaline environment in the body, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, can help neutralize mouth acids and raise saliva pH. Really, it is the same advice, “Eat foods, not too much, mostly plants.” Avoid sugars and refined grains. Eat whole foods, real foods, not packaged, ultra-processed junk foods and snacks. The junk will lower saliva pH and erode tooth enamel. You want the higher pH saliva that better buffers acids and helps repair tooth enamel.
Saliva’s Role
Saliva with a higher pH can better buffer acids from bacteria and your foods and helps support remineralize the enamel. This buffering capacity is essential for preventing the demineralization of enamel.
Conclusion
In summary, enamel remodeling involves losing and redepositing minerals. By understanding the factors that affect this process, you can take simple, effective proactive steps to protect and strengthen your enamel. Good oral hygiene, a diet rich in essential minerals, made up of real foods without junk, and the use of toothpaste with nano-hydroxyapatite can help maintain strong, healthy teeth. Don’t brush right after eating and considering supplements like vitamin D3 and K2 that can further support tooth health. Do this, and you will have a bright, healthy smile for your whole life.
