Remineralizing your teeth is easier than you might think

Remineralizing your teeth is easier than you might think

The enamel on our teeth is made out of calcium phosphate, which are minerals. When you eat or drink flavored beverages, the bacteria in our mouths metabolize what been consumed and makes acids. These acids demineralize the teeth by removing minerals on the enamel.

In order to remineralize the enamel on our teeth and help protect it from cavities, we really need to do one thing: spit. The minerals in your saliva will allow that remineralization to happen. Saliva has calcium and phosphate in it and some other buffers that will help buffer that acidic state.

If our mouths produce saliva, then why do we get cavities at all? The answer, in part, is due to the way—and frequency— in which we eat and drink. If while sitting at our desks, we nurse a couple cups of iced-coffee all day, never giving our mouths the chance to return to that neutral state, then we leave our mouths freaking out on acid, so to speak— an intense state that compromises tooth health.

It takes a little over a half hour for your mouth to go from an acidic state after eating or drinking a flavored beverage, to a neutral state, in which the saliva can exercise its healing power. If you’re sipping coffee, and you take another sip, then you’re starting at square one again. And this all-day exposure to acidic foods or drink is what leads to cavities.

Optimally, we should take a two-hour break after eating a meal or finishing a drink in order to allow our saliva to remineralize teeth. If you want to accelerate your mouth’s healing time, the American Dental Association points to studies that show using Xylitol gum or mints (Spry) after meals can lower instances of tooth decay, by increasing saliva flow.

While our bodies are self-equipped to remineralize teeth, this biological auto-correct isn’t enough to ward off tooth decay and cavities on its own. Maintaining proper dental hygiene, including flossing once a day and brushing twice a day for two-minutes increments is vital.

Bottom line: keep your mouth off acid between meals, take some time with brushing and your teeth will find their way back to their mineral-hardened state—no hand-churned toothpaste or high-maintenance diets required.

For more information about what you can do to protect your teeth, click here.