Protect your enamel

Protect your enamel

Our body has been remarkably designed to have an ability to heal itself. That is one of the most

facinating things about being a health care professional. As a dentist, we cannot do what we do

on our patients without this self healing ability.

However, one area of our body, especially in the mouth (speaking as a dentist), that does not

heal itself is tooth enamel. Enamel is the hardest substance in our body. It constitutes the outer

layers of our teeth not only giving the strength but also providing a sparkling pearly look.

Fortunately, our body is able to remineralize(reharden) enamel from a very minor degree of

loss. However if significant amout of enamel gets lost, the amount of enamel lost will not come

back. It is gone completely. So does the strength of teeth and the aesthetic appearance.

So what are the main causes of enamel loss? To simplify there are two categories. First is

mechanical loss and second is chemical loss. This week, we will talk about one of the

mechanical causes of enamel loss: tooth paste.

Did you know many toothpastes sold over the counter have a high level of abrasiveness? This

abrasiveness actually gives us the “clean” feel after we brush our teeth. However too much of

this will cause significant wear on enemel. When we recommend tooh pastes, we tell our

patients to look out for this abrasive nature of some toothpaste. First, avoid whitening

toothpastes. These tend to have the highest level of abrasiveness. Second look for RDA value of

each tooth paste. RDA refers to the roughness of the toothpastes and is not normally listed in

the packaging. You have to actually call the company. Thankfully I have found a study that

compiles this and posted in our office website and facebook site. If you are interested, please

visit our website at Www.chemongfamilydental.com or facebook (search chemong family

dental) for more detail.

Next time we will discuss the chemical causes of enamel loss.