Teeth Remineralization: A Dental Trick That Blew My Mind
As I took a seat in my dentist’s mechanical green chair, I was slowly laid down for a typical dental inspection. Business as usual, once every six months. As a child, I was fortunate to receive the best possible dental treatment. I never felt pain in the dentist’s office. Even more importantly, most of my dentist appointments were to heal toothaches — excruciating pain caused by tooth decay. I know most of us have been there. This stinging and paralyzing pain can easily mess you up for quite a long time.
I believe I am quite lucky because regular appointments save me a lot of unnecessary pain and money. Yet, countless people have trembling and racing heartbeats just thinking about the dentist.
As we went through the checkup, my dentist started scolding me because new cavities had formed. Soon to be patched up, but it is not a good sign in the long term. Like a guilty child, I tried to convince her that I brush my teeth every day, twice — once in the morning and once before bed. She gave me a smile and said, “Well, it’s not that simple. Teeth remineralization is more complicated than that!” Confused, I asked, “Teeth remineralization?”
What is Teeth Remineralization?
It’s a process of tooth enamel (the outer tooth layer) reconstruction. Teeth gather free minerals in your saliva to rebuild themselves. It’s quite a fascinating process because, to some degree, it is tooth regeneration.
The Thing That Blew My Mind: “Teeth Can Regenerate With Proper Care?”
How Does Teeth Remineralization Work?
It’s about the environment in the mouth — how acidic or alkaline your saliva is. Despite the extreme hardness of enamel, it dissolves in acid, like most things. Acidity can be caused by bacteria or acidic food and drinks (different fruits, coffee, cola, and, most importantly, sugar). But in an alkaline environment, teeth can add free-flowing minerals to their mass, slowly building new mineral layers like a puzzle. The cause for alkalinity in our mouth is the secretion of our saliva (the more, the better) and the mineral composition in our diet or dental care.
Why is Teeth Remineralization Beneficial?
Firstly, the more mineralized our teeth are, the brighter our smile in a natural way. Secondly, mineralized teeth are a lot tougher. There is no problem when your teeth are harder than most rocks in nature. It’s easy to avoid injuries when you chew harder food. Finally, it prevents cavities. If teeth are mineralizing faster than decaying, less tooth patching is needed because cavities cannot form. The best thing is that even minor cavities can heal with proper remineralization.
How to Remineralize Your Teeth
- Deal with Bacterial Colonies in Your Mouth: Nothing is better than regular brushing, but most importantly, deal with interdental spaces. That’s the favorite place for those nasty tooth decayers. Consider getting an interdental brush and start proper flossing.
- Provide Building Blocks for Your Teeth: You need proper minerals for rebuilding. Fluoride and calcium salts are most effective. Be aware of what type of toothpaste you use. If the paste doesn’t have the necessary salts, it’s of no good use. You can even consider using mouthwash, but only if it contains the necessary salts.
- Don’t Rinse Your Mouth After Cleaning Your Teeth: It might be common sense to some, but many rinse their mouths after brushing. This washes out all the freshly applied mineral salts, preventing rebuilding.
- Use Sugarless Chewing Gum: Saliva plays the most important role in returning our mouth’s pH to alkaline. Chewing gum after a meal is the best way to stop the dissolution of your teeth. (After most meals, we reach a critical point where our teeth start to decay.)
- Maintain Healthy Dietary Patterns: If possible, avoid sugary foods that cause bacterial populations to explode. We all love sugar, and so do they. Consider foods rich in minerals like leafy greens, broccoli, and most dairy products, which are rich in calcium and beneficial for rebuilding teeth.
- Regular Dental Appointments Are Crucial: Especially hygienist visits. There are places we cannot reach with the best intentions and tools. Professionals use methods beyond our grasp to clean all invisible bacterial colonies and apply tooth remineralization pastes that are multiple times more efficient.
Afterword
Teeth are important tools in our daily lives. We use them to grind our meals, demonstrate our attractiveness, and, most importantly, their well-being is crucial for our overall health. With proper care, teeth can serve a lifetime.
With love and care,
Darian
