Is Tooth Enamel Loss Really Permanent?

Keep it Healthy

Your tooth enamel is pretty tough and it has to be. It’s under constant assault from foods and drinks, not to mention the bacteria that grows in between brushing. Plus, every time you drink a soft drink or eat something sugary, it makes your enamel weaker. And that’s a problem because your enamel defends your teeth against decay, and when it gets damaged you’ll probably end up having to make an emergency trip to an after hours dentist. If you want to avoid that, here’s what you need to know about this essential part of your teeth.

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What is Enamel?

Enamel is the hard coating over the softer parts of your teeth. It’s made primarily of a mix of minerals, and is the hardest substance in the body, harder even than your bones. However, once your enamel is damaged or worn away, it doesn’t grow back. Though your dentist can repair small lesions that weaken enamel, once it’s gone you’re going to have serious problems with your teeth for the rest of your life.

There are a number of things that can damage the enamel on your teeth. The most problematic are:

• Soft drinks, because the high sugar content eats away at the enamel and weakens it overall.

•  Sugary foods, which have the same effect as soft drinks.

•  Certain medications can soften the enamel.

•  Conditions like Bruxism or teeth grinding, because the constant motion wears the enamel away.

•  Diseases like Acid Reflux Disease, where stomach acids rise from the gut and can wear away the teeth.

•  Genetics.

How to Tell if Your Enamel is Worn

It’s usually pretty easy to tell if your enamel has been damaged or worn away in any areas. With the enamel gone, the soft inner surfaces of your teeth will be exposed to the open air and to any food and drink that you consume. This means that the affected teeth will become discoloured or stained more easily. Your teeth will also become more sensitive to hot and cold foods or drinks.

Enamel is very strong, which is why your teeth are fairly hard to break. But when the enamel wears away, you will also notice that your teeth chip or break more easily. This is why you need to visit your dentist if you notice any changes in your teeth. Because once your teeth start to break, fixing the problem becomes much more difficult.

Strengthening and Repairing Enamel

Once your enamel is gone, it can’t be replaced. However, if you know ahead of time that your enamel is thinning then you can take steps to try and boost its health. That’s one reason why you need to make regular trips to the dentist for check-ups, because they’ll be able to tell you if you have a problem with your enamel.

Products that contain fluoride can be very helpful in keeping your enamel strong. Fluoride acts as a barrier between food and drinks and your enamel, preventing damage or degradation. You can also find toothpastes that contain minerals that will help to strength enamel weak spots by inundating them with calcium. This will help prevent further damage to the enamel and hopefully prevent it from being completely worn away from your tooth or teeth.

How to Prevent Enamel Loss

You can’t replace enamel that’s been lost, that’s why the best strategy to preserve your oral health is to avoid things that cause damage. So if you grind your teeth, talk to your dentist about a mouth guard. Try to avoid medications such as aspirin which cause enamel erosion. Avoid sugary foods and drinks as much as possible. And most of all, take a proactive role in your oral health. This means informing yourself about the health of your enamel and talking to your dentist about any issues before they become serious problems.

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Emergency Dentist Sydney Says:

If you have a dental emergency, contact our Emergency Dentist in Sydney. Our caring and expert staff are available 24 hours a day to help you with all your emergency dental needs.

The Charcoal Toothpaste Trend

Should You Try It?

Health fads and trends come and go. Remember last year, when half your mates were declaring they were going to change their lives by eating like a caveman on the Paleo diet? Or when that girl at work told you that she was getting ready for summer bikini season by squishing herself into an elastic corset belt because Kim Kardashian does and swears it works?

Fortunately, these kinds of very questionable health trends do tend to die out quickly. Your Paleo eating mate gave that up when he realised that life without meat pies, pizza and a nice big sandwich occasionally was pretty sad. And the waist trainer woman went back to working out at the gym to get a beach bod rather than suffocating herself with Kardashian approved underwear after the third time she passed out at her desk because she couldn't breathe.

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Charcoal Toothpaste. Black = White?

One very questionable 'trend' that is still going strong however is the idea of using charcoal toothpaste to get bright, white teeth. If you haven't tried it (and we hope you haven’t, but we'll get to that in a minute) you've seen it on your Facebook or Instagram feed. Someone with a mouthful of what looks like black tar and a big grin on their face because they can assure you that this rather gross looking toothpaste is going to give you the whitest, brightest smile possible.

If you do a quick Google search, you'll see that everyone and his Aunty is selling their own version of this new 'wonder; toothpaste. Some of it is even mixed with other 'miracle' ingredients like clay, 'minerals' and coconut shells (!??) And none of it's cheap. But it is vegan. So, here's the big question; should you hop on the charcoal toothpaste bandwagon and plonk down your $20 (and up) for a little tube of black gloop? After all, summer's coming and you do want to look your best from head to toe.
 

The Truth About Charcoal Toothpaste

Now, the idea of using charcoal to clean your teeth is not new, whatever that nice hipster lady on YouTube says in her 'infomercial'. The Ancient Romans used charcoal to clean their teeth over two thousand years ago. But that's not really much of an endorsement, as they also used urine as a mouthwash, washed their faces with gladiator blood to get a clearer complexion and made a habit of vomiting half way through a big meal just so they could eat more. So not exactly the health experts you want to follow, to say the least.

The fact is not only will charcoal toothpaste not make your teeth any whiter, prolonged use will actually destroy them. Activated charcoal is hugely abrasive, so yes, it may get some stains off your teeth, but it will also begin to take the enamel off as well. Once your enamel is gone, you can never get it back. At that point the next 'layer' of the tooth, dentin, will be exposed, and as that has a natural yellow tinge you'll be left with teeth that look yellower than ever before and that are at a much greater risk for decay and damage.

The lesson here is sometimes the boring old ways just work. However uncool it is, a good old-fashioned fluoride toothpaste is still the best way to clean your teeth. And if you are concerned about the colour of your teeth, a professional whitening treatment at your dentist's office won't cost you too much more than that trendy charcoal toothpaste and it'll actually work.

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Emergency Dentist Sydney Says:

Should you try it? No. Why use charcoal toothpaste to whiten your teeth when we already have medical grade, safe, dental board approved products that do that for you and don't destroy your teeth in the process.

Many of the odd health trends out there are pretty harmless, but charcoal toothpaste isn't one of them. It's not worth potentially damaging your teeth for good for the sake of being trendy, so stick to your tried and tested toothpaste and save all that extra cash for something that might actually benefit the appearance of your teeth, like visiting us for a good clean and polish.