How Do You Stop Your Teeth From Being Damaged By Chronic Acid Reflux?

Dentist Blog

Acid reflux occurs when the acid in your stomach comes up your throat, and it's quite common. Most people are familiar with acid reflux causing painful heartburn, but it can also cause problems with your oral health. If your stomach acid moves all the way up your throat into your mouth, it will start eating away at the enamel on the back of your teeth.

Losing enamel makes your teeth more vulnerable to cavities, and it can also cause them to become very sensitive. If you have acid reflux, it's important to protect your teeth from the damage that your stomach acid can cause to them. To find out how you can protect the enamel on your teeth from being eroded by acid reflux, read on. 

Chew Sugar-Free Gum After Meals

If you have chronic acid reflux, one of the best ways to protect your teeth is to chew sugar-free gum after eating a meal. Chewing gum will make you produce more saliva, which dilutes any stomach acid that comes back up into your mouth, making it less damaging to your teeth. Producing more saliva also makes you swallow more, which helps keep your stomach acid away from your teeth.

Don't Brush Your Teeth Immediately After a Reflux Episode

Brushing your teeth regularly is one of the best ways to maintain your dental health. However, it's important to avoid brushing your teeth shortly after having an episode of acid reflux. Brushing your teeth while they're coated with stomach acid will work the acid deeper into the enamel, causing more damage to your teeth. After experiencing acid reflux, don't brush your teeth immediately to try to remove the acid from your teeth. Instead, you should swish water around in your mouth to rinse most of the acid off.

Avoid Acidic Foods and Drinks

When you have chronic acid reflux, your teeth will be damaged multiple times a day by your stomach acid. To keep your teeth in good condition, it's important to avoid other causes of enamel erosion. Limit your intake of acidic foods and drinks like soda and sour candy to reduce the amount of acid your teeth are exposed to and preserve your enamel.

Ask Your Dentist for a Fluoride Varnish Treatment

To strengthen the enamel on your teeth and help protect them from stomach acid, you can schedule an appointment with your dentist for a fluoride varnish treatment. Fluoride varnish contains a very large amount of fluoride, which strengthens enamel. It's applied directly to your teeth in your dentist's office. Fluoride varnish treatments are inexpensive and help stop your teeth from being eroded by stomach acid.

Overall, preventing chronic acid reflux from damaging your teeth involves strengthening their enamel with a fluoride varnish treatment and trying to minimize the amount of contact between your stomach acid and your teeth. If you suffer from chronic acid reflux, you'll need to work closely with your dentist to preserve your oral health. A thin enamel layer on your teeth caused by acid reflux makes your teeth more susceptible to developing cavities, and it can also make them more likely to fracture. To protect your teeth, make sure you follow the tips above to minimize the damage and schedule frequent cleanings with a dentist to keep cavity-causing bacteria at bay. 

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