Special Report: Acid Attack! By Dr Greg Prior Are Your Teeth in Danger? Your teeth may be at risk. Did you know that consuming acidic foods and drinks can lead to acid erosion of your teeth? Once softened by acid exposure, your tooth enamel becomes weakened and can be more easily worn away, even by just brushing your teeth! If you tend to grind your teeth at night, you can quickly do some serious damage. Often the first sign of this problem is increased sensitivity to cold air or liquids. Bouts of acid exposure will open up the pores on your teeth, and any areas of dentin exposure, such as root surfaces, can become very sensitive. Teeth softened by acid are much more vulnerable to decay. That can mean a lot of extensive dental treatment. Serious damage from acid doesn't happen with a single exposure, and your teeth have some capacity to recover (re-mineralize). However, many repeated exposures can lead to severe, irreversible destruction of your teeth. This is HUGE problem. I'm very alarmed by how much acid erosion and the resulting tooth sensitivity I'm seeing. And most people have absolutely NO IDEA that it's happening to them. This is a Real Threat... In the past few years, I have seen more and more patients who are presenting with this problem. One patient in particular, she was a new patient to my practice. Her teeth were worn right down to their gum line! Ouch! I also noticed that many younger adults who consume large quantities of cola drinks and their teeth were being decimated by tooth decay (more on that issue later). This problem of acid erosion isn't just age specific. I see a LOT of it in all ages, and it seems to be getting worse every year. Sure, people are living longer and keeping their natural teeth. Yet, that still doesn't explain all the damage I'm seeing. Beware the acid bombs! A key factor in this "epidemic" of acid damage is our modern diet. Many of the foods and drinks that we consume contain highly elevated levels of acid. Acids commonly added to our food include citric acid, acetic acid (vinegar), and phosphoric acid ��" all of which can significantly harm your enamel. So make sure you read the ingredients label. Why are these acids being added? In most cases, to assist in preservation. It's widespread within the food industry. Benzoic acid and its salt forms (sodium benzoate, potassium benzoate, etc.) are amongst the most widely used food preservative in the world. It's cheap and very effective. Prolonged shelf life translates into higher profits. In the food industry, it is used in wide range of items from jams, juices and salad dressings to ice cream, soft drinks and candies. It's also used in toothpaste, mouthwash, and as a rust inhibitor in anti-freeze. Being weakly acidic, benzoic acid won't harm your enamel directly. This chemical's preservative effect is pH dependent ��" it works best in a low pH (acidic) environment. Other strong acids are being added to food and beverage products to establish a low enough pH for this preservative to work. Many food substances, such as soft drinks, ice cream, and candies, are being acidified (juiced up) this way. That's the big, hidden acid spike many of us are being hit with! On a further note, benzoic acid can combine with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to form benzene ��" a known carcinogen. Vitamin C is often added to food or beverage products as an anti-oxidant. These two ingredients are still being used together in a wide range of beverages throughout the World (fortunately banned in North America). Another good reason to read those ingredient labels. Watch out for the Double Dose! A high sugar and strong acid combo make some of these food and beverages particularly devastating for your teeth. Bacteria in your mouth can aggressively metabolize any available sugar to produce lactic acid. That means your teeth will be exposed to even more acid. That's why a lot of children have re occurring decay. They constantly got hit with a double dose of acid from all the cola drinks they drink! Diet drinks may be marginally easier on your teeth, but some sugar substitutes (aspartame) can add an extra punch to the acid attack on our bodies.

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