Protect Your Teeth By Preserving the Enamel

Do you safeguard the outermost layer of your teeth? Damaged or worn away enamel—the hard, translucent coating of a tooth that protects the inner layers of the tooth—can eventually lead you to need root canal therapy. 

From the front desk to follow-up, our patients’ needs come first at the office of Foundation Endodontics. We are always at the forefront of dental research and use the latest diagnosis and treatment technology to help our patients deal with issues that require endodontic services.

When enamel wears away, it exposes the underlying dentin and eventually the tooth’s pulp. The pulp contains nerves and blood vessels, and contamination to it makes the tooth vulnerable to infection and severe pain. Left untreated, the toxicity can spread deep into the tooth’s root. An endodontist will have to clean and seal the affected area.

Here are some ways you could be unknowingly harming your enamel.

Using your teeth to open food and product packaging. Yes, those bags of potato chips and hard-plastic shells are frustrating to unseal when no scissors are around, but taking the time to find scissors or another appropriate tool is worth the wait. 

By overdoing at-home whitening treatments. If your enamel already has weak spots, whitening may negatively affect already-vulnerable teeth. 

Grinding and/or clenching your teeth as a coping mechanism. It takes a toll on your enamel. If you do it while awake, find another outlet. If you do it while asleep, ask your dentist if a mouth guard is a good option for you.

Gummi candies are quite popular—and stick to your teeth for hours on end, which gives their sugar plenty of time to eat away at your enamel. Find a substitute sweet that won’t stick to your teeth like glue. 

Your diet is too acidic. The top culprits include hard sugar candies, coffee, citrus fruits and soda. Red and white wine have enamel-weakening acids that make it porous. Indulge in vino but vigorously swish water in your mouth shortly afterward to banish acidic residue. 

The office of Foundation Endodontics is made up of friendly, highly trained specialists who are eager to help you feel comfortable and relaxed while receiving the very best in dental care. Please call us today to schedule an appointment!