Post by tobycrathes on Feb 28, 2018 17:00:29 GMT 10
Although coffee and cigarettes leave stains on your teeth over time, thin tooth enamel also makes teeth look yellow. Tooth enamel is the hard, white surface of your teeth, and underneath it is a pale brown substance called dentin. Thick enamel looks white, but thin enamel allows dentin tones to show through, making teeth look yellow from the outside. Enamel naturally wears thin as people age, but acids from foods and drinks such as sour candies, oranges and soda also thin the enamel by eroding its surface. Carole Palmer, head of the Division of Nutrition and Oral Health Promotion at Tufts University, tells Tufts Now that even chewable vitamin C tablets are acidic.
Saliva neutralizes acid and washes it away, but people suffering from dry mouth miss out on this protective effect. For example, children who breathe through their mouths due to blocked nasal passages can prevent saliva from remoisturizing the mouth when it's closed – putting them at risk of developing thin tooth enamel.
Saliva neutralizes acid and washes it away, but people suffering from dry mouth miss out on this protective effect. For example, children who breathe through their mouths due to blocked nasal passages can prevent saliva from remoisturizing the mouth when it's closed – putting them at risk of developing thin tooth enamel.