You Can't Go Wrong with Milk, Water, or Tea Bottled water with added minerals contains calcium phosphate, an important element to help strengthen tooth enamel. Water from your faucet is full of fluoride that also strengthens teeth and does a good job at removing food particles.
Milk. Next to water, milk is the healthiest drink for your teeth. It protects tooth enamel, contains vitamins and calcium and can actually reduce tooth decay. You could even let some chocolate milk slide now and then (just be cautious of the amount of sugar).
While the enamel can't grow back, it can be remineralized with special tooth repair kits. Certain toothpastes and dental products push calcium and phosphates back into the teeth and harden the enamel. Fluoride plays a powerful role by capturing the calcium and phosphates that acids draw out of the teeth.
Many types of fruits and vegetables, dairy products such as milk, and foods or drinks containing fluoride – notably spinach, grapes and black tea – will be useful to naturally restore enamel.
Enamel can repair itself by using minerals from saliva, and fluoride from toothpaste or other sources. But if the tooth decay process continues, more minerals are lost. Over time, the enamel is weakened and destroyed, forming a cavity. A cavity is permanent damage that a dentist has to repair with a filling.
Water makes your teeth stronger.
Fluoridated water fortifies your teeth by restoring the calcium and phosphorous levels in your dental enamel, making them stronger against decay. It is particularly important for children to drink fluoridated water from a young age.
Sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, iced and sweet teas, and fruit juices all have high acid levels. Most of these drinks also contain sugar, which has the potential to be doubly damaging to teeth.
After you eat, bacteria in your mouth feast on sugars from sweet foods and starches. This makes acids that can destroy enamel. The green rods in this slide are bacteria that cause mild gum disease, also called gingivitis. Acids in sodas, juices, and drinks are harmful, too.
Classic Cola (RC Cola, Coke, Pepsi)
Quite possibly the most iconic soft drinks, colas, are also the worst overall. The full sugar versions supply the highest acidity rates with RC Cola being the champion at 2.387, the very front runner of all options tested.
Habit #5 – Drink Plenty of Water
It may seem like a recipe for disaster to drink water before turning in at night, but when it comes to your oral health, it's beneficial. Drinking water helps to flush your mouth of debris, and by adding moisture, it limits the growth of bacteria.
Bananas are full of vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin B6, as well as fiber. In addition, they provide a wide variety of minerals like potassium, manganese, and magnesium. These minerals can help strengthen tooth enamel, so they're very good for the teeth.
Foods and beverages with a high acidity level can affect your tooth enamel, and unfortunately, coffee is very acidic. If you drink it regularly, it can eventually erode the enamel and leave your teeth susceptible to decay.
Repair: Dental Bonding
One treatment option is repairing tooth enamel with dental bonding. Dental bonding involves applying a dental resin to the tooth surface to protect damaged areas and restore the intact surface.
As the enamel continues to erode, your teeth might turn a gray or yellowish color. If your teeth change shape, it's a good indicator that you have enamel damage. Your teeth may begin to appear rounded, develop ridges, and often the gaps between teeth will become more substantial.
It could be the result of an acidic diet, medication side reactions or just vigorous brushing. Dry mouth, low salivary flow, diet high in sugar and starches, bruxism and friction, acid reflux disease, gastrointestinal problems and even genetics could also be blamed for enamel erosion.
As the enamel erodes more, your teeth may appear grayish or yellow. Your teeth may begin to appear rounded, develop ridges, and often the gaps between teeth will become more substantial. Eventually, you may notice cracks in the teeth or experience loss of tooth material.
Coffee, like any drink other than water, increases your risk of developing cavities. Because it introduces bacteria and acids into your mouth, coffee can also erode tooth enamel causing sensitivity and brittle teeth over time.
The enamel on our teeth is not living tissue, so it cannot repair itself if it is damaged or eroded. Once the enamel is gone, it's gone for good. This is why it's so important to take care of our teeth and to avoid anything that could damage or erode the enamel.
Once tooth enamel is damaged, it cannot be brought back. However, weakened enamel can be restored to some degree by improving its mineral content. Although toothpastes and mouthwashes can never “rebuild” teeth, they can contribute to this remineralization process.
Worn and missing enamel leaves your teeth more susceptible to cavities and decay. Small cavities are no big deal, but if left to grow and fester, they can lead to infections such as painful tooth abscesses. Worn enamel also impacts the appearance of your smile.
The two possible causes of wear at the gumline are abrasion and abfraction. Abrasion is caused by overzealous brushing or using a stiff-bristle toothbrush. You may think that scrubbing your teeth gets them extra clean, but you could be damaging your teeth by using too much force.