In the last article dental implants Cherry Hill, NJ provider Dr. Donn and the rest of his staff posted, we talked about the local restaurant week which was in full swing. Cherry Hillās restaurant week is a chance for local community members to experience all sorts of fine dining, and a chance for local eating establishments to get a chance to display their cooking skills on a large scale.
However, today we want to branch piggyback off of the topic of fine dining and talk about one side effect it has that affects many people across the world; heartburn.
Feeling The Burn
We all like to eat good food. Especially when itās prepared by a professional chef who knows his craft. However, despite how amazing the food might taste, fancy food is often rich food. Rich food means it has a combination of ingredients that can cause the acids in our digestive systems to go into overdrive. A burning feeling in your stomach and throat will usually follow shortly after, as acid from your stomach is sent back up into your esophagus, as if it were your stomachs way of revolting against the influx of food.
Trust us when we say that if this sounds like something you go through that you are suffering from a bout of acid reflux and you are not alone. In fact according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services a whopping seven million people suffer from severe acid reflux.
Just Because Acid Reflux is Common Doesnāt Make It Less Harmful
Aside from the fact that frequent severe heartburn can do serious damage to your esophagus and stomach lining, What many people donāt know is that acid reflux can cause serious damage to your teeth and gums as well. Guess what that means?
Yep. The health and success of your dental implants are at risk as well.
In fact, according to David Lazarchik, DMD, who is a lead author on a study exploring the damage heartburn can do to your teeth āPatients often are not aware of the damage that reflux-induced erosion has caused to their teeth until it had reached Ā an advanced stage of destruction.ā
The reason behind this damage can be explained by examining potential hydrogen, or a pH scale. PH scales are measured on a scale of 0 to 14. The lower a solutionās pH is, the more acidic it is. The higher a solutionās pH, the less acidic it is.
āDental enamel begins to dissolve at a pH of 5.5,ā Dr. Lazarchik says. ā Because stomach acid has an extremely low pH of 2.0, it has the potential to cause significant chemical erosion.ā
What Can You Do if You Are Diagnosed With Acid Reflux-Induced Erosion?
If you happen to be suffering from acid reflux-induced erosion then donāt panic. There are actually a number of things you can do to help mitigate and possibly prevent further damage to your teeth. We actually have put together a little list of things you can start doing immediately to help.
- Avoid brushing your teeth for at least 60 minutes after an episode of acid reflux.
- Try and avoid trigger foods if you can. These include fatty meats, tomatoes, citrus fruits, fried or spicy foods and dairy.
- Rinse your mouth with water after an episode of acid reflux.
- Take a sugar-free antacid and let it dissolve in your mouth. Do not chew it.
We hope the information above was helpful to you in some way.
Until next time readers, keep smiling.