How To Strengthen Weak Tooth Enamel

Enamel is an essential part of teeth, although it may not have mattered to you until it caused a problem. Tooth enamel serves as a protective layer for the teeth, and certain types of damage to it cannot be repaired on your own, there are steps you can take to support and protect it. Read on to understand more about enamel, how enamel erosion occurs, and the steps you can take to support and protect it.

What is Tooth Enamel and Why is it Important?

Enamel is the hard outer layer that covers the tooth's visible part known as the crown. Interestingly, enamel is the hardest tissue in the human body. It is a vital layer that protects the soft tissue inside your teeth (also known as the pulp) from damage, decay, and infection.

What is Tooth Enamel Made of?

The enamel is a shiny and translucent structure. It is a mineralised tissue composed of 96% mineral organic content and water constituting the rest. Tooth enamel is made up of hydroxyapatite crystallites that contain calcium phosphate.

What Causes Loss of Enamel on Teeth?

Even though enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, it can thin out over time. Tooth enamel loss is often attributed to acids of bacterial or non-bacterial origin. Poor oral hygiene causes bacteria to wear down the enamel over time, leading to cavities. Dental erosion is the irreversible loss of tooth enamel caused by acids of non-bacterial origin.

Causes of weakened enamel may include:

• Improper dental habits: Brushing too hard or using a hard-bristled toothbrush

• Unhealthy diet: Consuming overly sugary or acidic foods and beverages

• Acid reflux (backward flow of stomach acid to your food pipe) or vomiting

• Smoking and  use of tobacco products

• Overconsumption of alcohol

• Dry mouth (also known as xerostomia)

• Traumatic injury

Enamel loss can contribute to tooth sensitivity. As the enamel wears off, the underlying hard tissue called dentin gets exposed, making the nerves and tissues inside the tooth susceptible to hot, cold, and other stimuli. Enamel erosion may lead to the formation of dental caries on the enamel surface, an early stage of tooth decay. Protection of tooth enamel is hence essential for oral health care.

How To Strengthen Tooth Enamel

According to dentistry, caring for your tooth enamel is crucial as it does not regenerate as the cells in your bones do. As enamel does not contain living cells, repairing the damage from enamel wear or decay cannot happen naturally and requires a dental professional. Saliva helps maintain the enamel by remineralising it, neutralising acidity, and washing away food particles. It carries essential minerals like fluoride, calcium, and phosphate that help rebuild and strengthen weakened tooth enamel. But this will not fully heal it.

You may be wondering how to strengthen the enamel of your teeth. Luckily, various measures that you may take to support your enamel and prevent further damage include:

1. Avoid Unhealthy Dietary Choices

When it comes to protecting your enamel and your long-term dental health, avoiding unhealthy dietary choices is a powerful option. Bacteria in your mouth thrive in a sugary and acidic environment and cause the breakdown of tooth enamel. Hence, items that are both sugary and acidic can be harmful to your oral health if consumed regularly.

Avoiding foods and drinks that feed bacteria is a smart choice. According to the Indian Dental Association (IDA), acidic foods and soft drinks are the most common cause of tooth enamel erosion. Generally, foods and beverages with a pH below 5.0–5.7 are known to trigger dental erosion effects.

Dietary habits that can help prevent damage to your enamel include:

• Decrease consumption of overly sugary acidic foods and beverages.

• Reduce consumption of carbonated drinks such as soda, soft drinks, and sports drinks.

• Avoid swishing acidic drinks around the mouth to reduce exposure of teeth to acids.

• Avoid the use of tobacco and excessive drinking of alcohol.

• Refrain from chewing on ice, non-food items (like pens and pencils), and hard foods.

Upon consuming acidic foods and drinks, ideally, rinse with water or mouthwash to dilute and neutralize the acids. Also, avoid brushing immediately after consuming anything acidic, as it temporarily softens the tooth surface, speeding up enamel erosion. The IDA recommends waiting for an hour, at least, to let the calcium in your saliva repair the enamel.

2. Choose a Tooth-Healthy Diet

In the same way that some foods and drinks can contribute to tooth decay, some dietary choices are powerful ways to support your enamel and oral health. While avoiding sugary and acidic foods and beverages, your choice of a healthy diet could be rich in nutrients, promote saliva production, promote remineralisation, or all of the above.

Healthy dietary choices for your enamel may include:

• Whole grains

• Fruits and vegetables

• Lean proteins

• Low-fat dairy products

• Drinking water to stay hydrated

Using sugar-free chewing gum helps reduce dry mouth and stimulates the flow of saliva, allowing it to neutralise acids and remineralize the teeth.

3. Choose Fluoridating Products

Various products that help maintain your enamel’s health are available, including those that remineralise your teeth. Chief among these are products that contain fluoride. Fluoride helps strengthen your teeth, prevents cavities and remineralizes tooth enamel preventing tooth erosion.

Products that contain fluoride may include:

• Toothpaste

• Mouthwash and antiseptic mouth rinse

• Fluoridated water

You may consider using an optimal toothpaste, such as Colgate Total Advanced Health, that provides whole mouth health and protects the enamel from erosive damage. With Dual Zinc and Arginine technology, it fights germs on teeth, cheek, gums and tongue for 12 hours and repairs weakened tooth enamel.