Are Your Teeth On Acid?

Every morning, children across America hear the words, "Finish your orange juice...Now go brush your teeth!" Orange juice is good for the body, and brushing is good for the teeth, but orange juice (and other acidic beverages) immediately followed by brushing is catestrophic to teeth. Could mom be wrong after all these years?

Enamel Erosion- A number of studies have shown that beverages with a low pH (acidic) have an influence on the softening and erosion of tooth enamel. One of the studies exposed a cow tooth to an acidic soft drink for 5 minutes and reported that the tooth surface--after only 5 minutes--was 31% less hard. The study also reported that the tooth regained only 86% of its strength back after a 24hr period of time.

Dental Abrasion- Another study revealed that brushing teeth immediately after consuming acidic products accelerates enamel erosion. Once the enamel is softened by the acid, it becomes more susceptible to abrasions by toothbrush bristles.

Most people tend to sip their beverages, submersing their teeth for a total time of several minutes. So a recent study chose to immerse teeth at times of 5 seconds, 1 minute or 10 minutes in one of the following four beverages: Coca-Cola, Pepsi One, Diet Mountain Dew or Tropicana Pure Premium Low Acid Orange Juice. Micrographs showed that the appearance of the tooth enamel was altered after only 5 seconds. The altered appearance showed the noticeably softer enamel surface. Brushing with toothpaste induced even greater surface changes and caused some enamel to be brushed away.

So how much time should elapse after drinking acidic beverages before brushing can occur? Well, that has yet to be determined. What we do know is that the plaque around teeth becomes acidic within 2 minutes of drinking a beverage containing sugar and that more than 30 minutes must elapse before normal pH is restored. Until a protocol is determined, I tell my patients to swish with water after drinking an acidic beverage and wait 30 minutes before brushing.

All acidic beverages aren't bad for the body, but most are bad for the teeth if not cared for properly...so don't leave your teeth on acid--Swish, Wait, then Brush!