As a family dentist in El Centro, we work to empower our patients to make positive choices for their long-term oral health. Our goal is for you to have healthy teeth for a lifetime and that means taking steps, regardless of how old you are, to keep your teeth healthy and strong. Regular preventative care plays an important role in that. By cleaning your teeth twice a year and removing plaque and tartar, we can decrease the likelihood of you developing both cavities and gum disease. Likewise, when you visit our dental office, we will show you how to properly brush and floss your teeth so that you can get the best possible clean at home. This, however, is where good habits begin, not end.
Most people do not consider their teeth or how their behavior will impact them. Teeth are like most of the bones, they function without you thinking about them and, as long as you do not get into an accident, it is assumed that they will continue to do so. However, in any case, you need to take steps to keep them strong, or you could end up with osteoporosis or teeth that lose bone density, eventually falling out.
Watching what you eat and drink on a daily basis is an important part of taking care of your teeth. This ensures that they can remain in place and continue providing you with the ability to eat and speak clearly for the rest of your life, in addition to the ability to smile with confidence. With that in mind, it is important for you to learn about pH levels so that you can make healthy decisions.
When the pH level in an object is measured, we are determining how acidic that object is. Battery acid is clearly corrosive and dangerous for you. It can erode or eat away at virtually anything that it touches and has a pH level of zero. Water, on the other hand, is neutral and has a pH level of 7. The goal is to expose your teeth to objects with a pH level above 5.5 only since that is the level at which dentin will start to dissolve. In other words, anything with a pH level below 5.5 can literally eat away at your teeth.
The lower the pH level and the closer to straight acid something becomes, the faster it will erode or dissolve your teeth. As a family dentist, we advise that you do whatever you can to stay away from food and drinks that have a low pH level because otherwise, you may have the need for dental restorations or dental prosthetics far sooner than is actually necessary. While we can certainly help you with those things, we would prefer for you to maintain healthy and strong teeth.
Juice. Fruit juice can be highly acidic. For example, Minute Maid orange juice has a pH level of 3.7. If you must have juice, grab a V8 vegetable juice instead for while it is acidic, it is much less so with a pH level of 4.29.
Soda. Do not drink soda. It is so bad for your teeth that Coca-Cola Classic has a pH level of 2.5, closer to straight acid than water.
To learn more about what to eat or what to avoid, call our El Centro family dentist office and schedule an appointment.
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