What Is Remineralization? How to Remineralize Your Teeth
Enamel protects the inner layers of your teeth from dietary acids, helping to keep them healthy and white. Once enamel wears away, it can’t repair itself1. However, it is possible to repair and strengthen weakened enamel – a process known as ‘remineralization’ – and protect your teeth from future erosion.
What Causes Teeth to Lose Minerals?
Enamel can wear away for a variety of reasons, but one of the most common is erosion caused by acids in your diet. These acids attack your tooth enamel, wearing away the minerals that keep it strong – a process called ‘demineralization’. Over time, this weakens your enamel, and the loss of minerals can result in white spots on your teeth, as well as changes in their shape.2, 3, 4 Find out more about what causes tooth wear.
The good news is, before it’s worn away, acid-weakened enamel can be repaired and those important minerals can be restored. This is called ‘remineralization’.3
What is Remineralization and How Do You Remineralize Teeth?
Remineralization occurs when vital minerals—like calcium—bond to the teeth to fill in the weakened areas of enamel.
These minerals need to be present in saliva to facilitate the process. You can get many of these minerals from the foods you eat, such as cheese and other dairy products, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, or poultry and seafood.
However, modern diets are highly acidic, and your teeth may need some extra help to promote remineralization.
Find out more about how to actively repair tooth enamel.
6 Ways to Help Remineralize Teeth
1. Increase Saliva Production
One of the most effective ways to repair tooth enamel is to maximize the amount of saliva you produce. This is because essential components in your saliva – such as calcium and phosphate – can neutralize harmful acids and help restore minerals lost because of acids in your diet. Saliva is also your body’s natural defense against cavities.3, 6
2. Drink More Water
Tap water containing protective fluoride plays a crucial role in supporting remineralization by helping to replace some of the calcium present in the enamel. Rinsing your mouth with fluoridated tap water after eating or drinking acidic foods and drinks can also help to reduce the effects of acids on your teeth.3, 5, 6
3. Use a Toothpaste Designed for the Job
Opt for a toothpaste clinically proven to help rebuild enamel strength, like Pronamel. Pronamel is specially designed to penetrate deep and remineralize acid-weakened enamel, to help protect your enamel every time you brush. Discover how Pronamel toothpaste actively strengthens weakened tooth enamel.
4. Chew Sugar-Free Gum
Chewing sugar-free gum helps to keep that all-important saliva flow up, protecting your enamel from acid wear and demineralisation. Always look for gums with the American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance.2, 5
5. Eat a Remineralization Diet
Certain foods can help remineralize the spots in your teeth that acidic foods and drinks have weakened. For example, foods rich in calcium (dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt) help put back minerals into the enamel, and fiber-rich fruits and vegetables encourage saliva flow.5
6. Dodge Acidic Drinks
Drinks that contribute to demineralization include sodas, sports drinks and fruit juices. In addition to their sugar content, these are all highly acidic and can wear down enamel – a combination that puts you at greater risk of demineralization and tooth decay.2
Take Steps to Remineralize Teeth
You can help remineralize your teeth by following the tips above and adopting a good dental hygiene routine with products like the Pronamel range that are designed to protect enamel. You should also pay regular visits to your dentist so that signs of demineralization can be spotted early.
Find out where to buy Pronamel and start your journey to healthier, stronger teeth.
SOURCES
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- Tooth. Mouth Healthy. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/t/tooth. Accessed on 30/03/20.
- Dietary acids and your teeth. Mouth Healthy. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/e/dietary-acids-and-your-teeth. Accessed on 22/01/20.
- Demineralization–remineralization dynamics in teeth and bone. International Journal of Nanomedicine (2016). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034904/pdf/ijn-11-4743.pdf. Accessed 30/03/20.
- Determining the Effect of Calculus, Hypocalcification, and Stain on Using Optical Coherence Tomography and Polarized Raman Spectroscopy for Detecting White Spot Lesions. International Journal of Dentistry. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2905912/pdf/IJD2010-879252.pdf. Accessed on 22/01/20.
- The Best and Worst Foods for Your teeth. University of Rochester Medical School. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4062. Accessed 22/01/20.
- JADA. https://www.adha.org/resourcesdocs/7167_JADA_Saliva_Supplement.pdf. Accessed 22/01/20.
