How can you build up tooth enamel?
introduction
Tooth enamel is the hardest material in the human body. It surrounds the dentin (also Dentine called) in the area of the tooth crown and protects it from wear. The dentine is in direct contact with the tooth pulp, in which nerves and blood vessels run, through millions of tubules and is therefore very sensitive to pain.
Tooth enamel is made up of crystalline enamel prisms. Due to its crystalline structure, the tooth enamel shines in its normal state. It consists of approx. 97% inorganic components such as hydroxyapatite, which consists of calcium and phosphate. The rest are organic components. The generally approx. 2.5mm thick tooth enamel is not supplied with blood and does not contain any cells and therefore cannot regenerate itself. Furthermore, no nerves run through the tooth enamel. For this reason, patients do not feel pain in the enamel of tooth decay.
Build up tooth enamel
Tooth enamel cannot regenerate itself because it is not supplied with blood or nervous system. This means that already worn enamel cannot be built up again.
You can only strengthen the enamel that is still there and protect it from further degradation. This can be done through remineralization. This means that missing minerals are added to it, which strengthen it again.
Strengthen tooth enamel through home remedies
Once the dentist has diagnosed enamel degradation based on the typical signs, it is very important to find out what is causing it.
As a first step, home remedies to strengthen the enamel can be used. Healthy fats such as coconut oil are suitable home remedies. Bone broth can also help mineralize the tooth again. Vitamin D or calcium supplements can also help strengthen the tooth enamel.
Strengthen tooth enamel with toothpaste
The most important measure to remineralize the tooth enamel is to brush with toothpaste containing a lot of fluoride at least twice a day. The fluoride from the toothpaste can penetrate the tooth enamel and strengthen it from the inside out again. This protects the teeth from further enamel breakdown, prevents tooth decay and improves general oral hygiene.
Use in children should be discussed with the treating dentist, as too much fluoride can cause problems during the development of the permanent teeth. Therefore, children should not take fluoride tablets, which the pediatrician often prescribes, in addition to children's toothpaste containing fluoride (whose fluoride content is reduced by 70%).
Read more about this at: toothpaste
In addition to toothpaste containing fluoride, there are also jellies that can be applied to teeth. These can be used once a week.
Rinsing with fluoride-containing mouthwashes is also very suitable as a supplement to daily oral hygiene, but is not a substitute for brushing your teeth.
Learn more at: Mouthwash
In general, it is very important not to brush the affected areas with too much pressure, as this could encourage a further decline in tooth enamel.
Strengthen tooth enamel with Schüssler salts
Schüssler salts are medicines that are often used to build up or strengthen the mineral balance in the body. According to the inventor, they do not completely belong to the field of homeopathy, as they are based on a different concept. There are 27 different types of Schüssler salts.
The Schüssler salts 12 and 22 are recommended for use to strengthen the tooth enamel. They consist of calcium fluoride, calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate and remineralise the hard tooth tissue. As a rule, the Schüssler salts are administered in tablet form. Since these contain lactose, a milk sugar, they are also available in the form of globules if you are lactose intolerant.
Are homeopathic remedies suitable for strengthening tooth enamel?
Homeopathic remedies are very popular to strengthen the tooth enamel. Homeopathy is based on the concept of correcting a disorder in the body and bringing it back into its pure functioning form. Sufficient advice from a homeopath must be given, with the help of which the cause of the disorder can be found out and a suitable therapy can be found. Patients also like to use the so-called Schüssler salts.
Causes of enamel degradation
One possible cause of the breakdown of tooth enamel is above all wear and tear when exposed to strong forces, such as grinding teeth. This can mainly happen at night due to stress. Defects in the toothing can also arise from prosthetic restorations (e.g. crown too high), which lead to incorrect loads and consequently wear and tear on the tooth enamel.
You might also be interested in: Treat teeth grinding
Furthermore, the tooth enamel can be attacked by acidic foods and drinks (especially fizzy sugary drinks such as lemonade). Tooth enamel depletion also affects patients who suffer from reflux diseases, commonly known as heartburn, or anorexia with vomiting. This acid damage to tooth enamel is called erosion.
Many foods are acidic and can therefore damage the tooth by the acid attacking the enamel. These mainly include fruit, various raw vegetables or beverages with a high sugar content.
In addition, too much brushing of the teeth can lead to wear of the tooth enamel.
Find out more about proper oral hygiene at: Proper dental care
The more fluorine and calcium phosphate in the tooth enamel, the harder the tooth.Since fluoride can penetrate the enamel from the outside, it is very important to brush your teeth with a toothpaste that contains fluorine. If there is a lack of properly carried out oral hygiene, the tooth receives too little fluorine and the resistance of the tooth enamel to the forces acting on it is greatly reduced.
Read more on the topic: Tooth enamel degradation
How do you recognize worn enamel?
The breakdown of tooth enamel can be diagnosed using a few parameters. Certain signs can be seen on the tooth.
First, as the enamel wears down, the tooth becomes thinner or less high than before. With increasingly thinner enamel, the tooth can appear matt and "transparent" in the area of the incisal edges of the front teeth. The tooth looks darker overall because the yellow dentin becomes visible.
The tooth reacts to the breakdown of enamel with increasing sensitivity to pain, which is usually expressed when eating cold or very warm food. The reason for this lies in the lost protection provided by the tooth enamel.
Accompanying symptoms of tooth enamel degradation
Dwindling enamel has enormous consequences for dental health.
As soon as the tooth enamel degrades and with it its protective layer for the dentin falls away, there is an increased sensitivity. This manifests itself especially in contact with cold, hot, sour or spicy food. The stimuli pass directly through the dentinal tubules to the tooth pulp and hit the nerves there.
Furthermore, the tooth becomes more fragile because the dentin is much softer than the hard enamel. This can lead to the edges of fillings rising up or parts of the tooth that are subjected to heavy stress when chewing to break off.
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The surface of the teeth becomes increasingly uneven and rougher. As a result, the tooth appears more matt than before. There may be color changes. Often even the yellow dentin (dentin) can shimmer through.
Furthermore, the risk of holes caused by tooth decay increases enormously.
If all teeth are exposed to enamel-degrading substances for a long period of time, their enamel will be lost evenly everywhere. This manifests itself as a lowering of the bite because the teeth lose height due to the broken down enamel. A deep bite created in this way can impair the chewing function and pose an aesthetic problem. Learn more at: Jaw misalignment - deep bite
How to prevent tooth enamel breakdown through proper diet
In most cases, the consumption of many acidic foods is the primary reason for the breakdown of tooth enamel. It is therefore very important to avoid these foods as much as possible. Unfortunately, consuming large amounts of fruits or raw vegetables is harmful to your teeth. While these foods are very healthy, they are high in acid that can damage tooth enamel. The effect is made worse if you brush your teeth immediately after eating raw vegetables, because then the softened tooth enamel is brushed away directly.
There are no foods that can directly promote enamel build-up. It is more important to avoid harmful foods. In the following, sugary drinks, i.e. especially soft drinks and juices, should be avoided. Wine also contains a great deal of acid, which can damage our teeth.
Of course, you shouldn't have to go without fruit or raw vegetables. It is therefore recommended to drink water when and especially after consuming acidic food. This means that part of the acid can be washed away and neutralized. In addition, you should wait at least half an hour after eating before brushing your teeth so as not to rub off the already weakened tooth enamel.
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Duration of the enamel build-up
The duration of the enamel build-up or its strengthening depends entirely on the elimination of the cause of the original breakdown, oral hygiene and the associated remineralization measures. With regular use of fluoride jellies and toothpastes containing fluoride, as agreed with the treating dentist, there can be a significant improvement after a few months. It is also very important that the diet is not too acidic.
How much does the enamel build-up cost?
The costs incurred for an enamel build-up are completely dependent on the already existing damage to the tooth enamel. Slight erosions or wear and tear can be removed with a splint and the use of fluoride toothpaste or jellies. Such splints are fully covered by the statutory health insurance. Corresponding pastes or jellies containing fluoride are available for less than € 10 in pharmacies or drugstores.
If larger restorations are necessary because the tooth is already too damaged, the possible alternatives must be discussed with the treating dentist. Most of the treatments have a subsidy from the health insurance companies and a part that you have to pay yourself. For this, a plan must be drawn up with the treating dentist.
