Most adolescents eat all different kinds of food with no regard to what it’s doing to their teeth. But as they progress through the years of adulthood, they will develop a greater sensitivity to foods and beverages that are cold and hot. Some foods will be more sensitive than others for them.

    Acidic foods, for instance, will cause erosion on the enamel of your teeth. Fruits like lemons and oranges will do this because of their acidic content. Your teeth will be discolored, and their brightness and glossiness will be gone. Any fruits like this with low pH levels will cause these problems. For this reason, you should drink 1 cup of water with any acidic food that you eat because that will help wash away the citric acid which may have stuck to your teeth.

    Here are additional beverages and foods that can damage your teeth in this way:

    Be wary of how much candy you give to a child. It can cause great harm to their teeth if they eat too much of it. Fortunately, their teeth are not that sensitive yet, so they won’t feel stinging from hot or cold liquids and they won’t suffer any toothaches. But what they can develop are cavities on their teeth. Candy will easily cause cavities to form on children’s teeth. It is inevitable.

The Reason for Dental Erosion

    If you consume lots of beverages and foods with high levels of acidic content, then dental erosion will happen. Because it is acidic, this content basically diminishes your teeth’s protective enamel layer. This will leave your teeth looking weak and discolored. As this keeps happening, your teeth will be more likely to chip or break.

    At the early stages of erosion, the minerals of your teeth are destroyed. This is what causes your teeth to be sensitive to cold and hot substances. Between the diminishing minerals and dental erosion, you will experience tooth decay. According to a government study, about 92% of American adults between the ages of 20 and 64 have some level of tooth decay.

Treating Dental Erosion

    High acidic foods that cause dental erosion have low pH levels. So, you will want to consume foods with high pH levels to help eliminate dental erosion. Such foods include cheese, nuts, whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, and fish. The lower the acid levels, the better it is for your enamel. However, it is still a good idea to periodically schedule dental cleanings at your dentist or orthodontist’s office. They can spot dental erosion before it gets worse and then reverse the erosion completely.