Once tooth enamel is damaged, it cannot be brought back. However, weakened enamel can be restored to some degree by improving its mineral content. Although toothpastes and mouthwashes can never “rebuild” teeth, they can contribute to this remineralization process.
Cheese, milk, plain yogurt, and other dairy products.
The calcium and phosphates in milk, cheese, and other dairy products, help put back minerals your teeth might have lost due to other foods. They also help rebuild tooth enamel.
Only a dentist can repair or rebuild tooth enamel. Learn how to protect tooth enamel from damage. Tooth enamel plays an important role in protecting your teeth, so it's important to keep it healthy.
Regular brushing and flossing
Using a toothpaste with fluoride will work to rebuild and strengthen the enamel of your teeth, helping repair the damage done by bacteria and prevent tooth decay.
Enamel can repair itself by using minerals from saliva, and fluoride from toothpaste or other sources. But if the tooth decay process continues, more minerals are lost. Over time, the enamel is weakened and destroyed, forming a cavity. A cavity is permanent damage that a dentist has to repair with a filling.
Calcium. Calcium is one of the most important minerals for healthy teeth because it helps strengthen your enamel. Sure, you may know that dairy products are a great source of calcium, but so are leafy greens, beans, and almonds.
You Can't Go Wrong with Milk, Water, or Tea
Bottled water with added minerals contains calcium phosphate, an important element to help strengthen tooth enamel.
As the enamel continues to erode, your teeth might turn a gray or yellowish color. If your teeth change shape, it's a good indicator that you have enamel damage. Your teeth may begin to appear rounded, develop ridges, and often the gaps between teeth will become more substantial.
It could be the result of an acidic diet, medication side reactions or just vigorous brushing. Dry mouth, low salivary flow, diet high in sugar and starches, bruxism and friction, acid reflux disease, gastrointestinal problems and even genetics could also be blamed for enamel erosion.
Baking soda is alkaline, so it can help regulate your mouth's PH by neutralizing the acidity. As such, baking soda not only prevents tooth decay but also helps remineralize your enamel. Baking soda can also limit plaque buildup by neutralizing plaque acids.
Your body cannot make new enamel; however, you can strengthen and repair existing enamel. This happens through a process called remineralization, which naturally occurs when essential minerals like fluoride, calcium, and phosphate reunite with your enamel.
The remineralization process usually takes about three to four months to take effect. However, once you begin to better fortify your enamel, you may start to see stronger teeth, experience less sensitivity, and even reveal a whiter smile.
Many fruits are high in acidity, including lemons, grapefruit, strawberries, grapes, and apples. The high sugar and acid content in soda makes it another huge contributor to enamel decay. Moderately acidic foods include pineapple, oranges, tomatoes, cottage cheese, maple syrup, yogurt, raisins, pickles, and honey.
This is because teeth can become translucent due to the effects of enamel erosion, which is a slow, gradual process. As the enamel wears down and becomes thinner, it begins to lose its natural color. This allows the underlying dentin layer to show through.
Tooth Enamel – Some people simply have softer tooth enamel than others. Genes play a major role in developing the structure of enamel, so if you have weak enamel, it is due to your genes. Weakened enamel makes it easier for bacteria and acids to cause cavities and decay.
It cannot regenerate itself, because it is formed by a layer of cells that are lost after the tooth eruption. Conventional treatment relies on synthetic materials to restore lost enamel that cannot mimic natural enamel.
Symptoms of thin enamel can be a translucent or clear appearance, white spots, tiny grooves or pits, sensitivity to hot or cold food/drink, tooth decay, and cavities.
When you eat, bacteria feast on sugars from sweet and starchy food. This creates harmful acids in your mouth that wear away the enamel. Acidic beverages, such as soda, alcohol, and fruit drinks also weaken the enamel and cause enamel erosion over time.
What happens if enamel is gone? Tooth enamel erosion exposes the inner layers of your teeth to open air and the foods and drinks you consume. This makes your teeth more vulnerable to cavities. In addition, tooth enamel loss can make your teeth more sensitive to heat, cold and sweets.
Worn and missing enamel leaves your teeth more susceptible to cavities and decay. Small cavities are no big deal, but if left to grow and fester, they can lead to infections such as painful tooth abscesses. Worn enamel also impacts the appearance of your smile.