To digest food properly, saliva mixes with good bacteria in your mouth as you chew. It creates a natural pH balance in your mouth. However, that pH balance can be affected by many things. Furumoto Dentistry, a dentist in Diamond Bar, knows how to look for and test for changes in the mouth's pH. Correcting the pH to a proper balance is important to your oral and digestive health.
The Right pH Balance in Your Mouth
The right pH balance in your mouth is somewhere between 6.2 and 7.6. Just to give you an idea of what that means, every number closer to zero is more acidic, while every number on the pH spectrum closer to 14 is more alkaline. It's important for your mouth to be slightly acidic to neutral.
What Happens When Your Mouth Is Too Acidic
Let's say that the dentist on Diamond Bar you see for oral health tells you that you have a pH of 2 or 3. That's not good because your tooth enamel will break down, and your teeth will have a lot more cavities. If not treated, your teeth could decay completely from the high acid in your mouth!
Conversely, if your mouth has a really high pH, like 12 or 13, bacteria that normally help you digest food get way out of hand. That level of bacteria can cause extremely bad breath and gum disease.
Foods and Drinks Change Your Oral pH
Any Diamond Bar cosmetic dentist will tell you that there's a list of "no-no foods" to stay away from after you get whitening or veneers. These same foods are responsible for changing your oral pH. While it isn't possible to avoid every food and beverage that changes the pH, you can scale back and brush more often. Restoring that balance and equilibrium of oral pH is about preventive oral hygiene.
Dental Approaches to Restoring pH Balance
While ultimately it's up to you to keep your mouth in balance by avoiding sugary foods and drinks, coffee, tea, and colas, brushing often, and flossing, there are dental approaches. Making sure you attend your appointments twice a year or more often to clean teeth and gums and having your dentist check oral pH helps.
If your dentist feels that your efforts need some extra help, there are medicated mouthwashes he or she may prescribe. Follow the instructions on the mouthwash bottle to restore the almost neutral to slightly acidic balance. Don't stop using the mouthwash until your dentist says so.
Why pH Balance Is Also Important to Cosmetic Dentistry
Many of the cosmetic procedures performed on your teeth need a healthy mouth. Otherwise, dental implants can become infected from excess bacteria and alkalinity, while excess acidity can wear away veneers and destroy teeth whitening. When a Diamond Bar cosmetic dentist won't perform these procedures on you until the pH is restored and steady, you now understand the reasons why.
Come See the Dentists at Furumoto Dentistry in Diamond Bar!
The combined expertise in dental health and cosmetic dental procedures at Furumoto Dentistry leaves you with a great smile. Book an appointment today!