Acidic foods can cause a lot of damage to your oral health. It's not just the teeth that need protection, either. The enamel on your teeth is more likely to wear away when you consume acidic food or drinks regularly. So what does this mean for you? Well, it means it's important to watch out for foods and beverages with high acidity levels. If you have dental caries or receding gums, it's even more important that you stick to a diet with low acidity.

What Makes Acidic Foods & Drinks Harmful?
To begin with, let's look at what makes acidic food and drinks harmful for your teeth in the first place. Your tooth enamel is naturally slightly alkaline. This means it has a pH level of around seven (slightly above neutral). Enamel protects the surface of your teeth from everyday wear and tear; without an outer protective layer like this, we'd be very prone to damage during brushing and eating our meals. However, when we consume acidic foods and beverages regularly - such as soft drinks containing phosphoric acid- they reduce the pH levels in our mouth (the average person's mouth has a pH of around five). This can wear away your tooth enamel, meaning that the protective layer is diminished. Now you're more likely to have issues with cavities and gum disease!

Acidic foods and drinks are also harmful to other parts of our mouth - not just the teeth. The Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa suggests it's important to take care when consuming acidic foods or drinks if you suffer from periodontal disease. When we eat acids repeatedly over time, they cause inflammation, leading to oral cancer in some cases. If your gums bleed when brushing or flossing, then there could be an issue with your gums. They may be more likely to bleed if you're constantly consuming acidic foods and drinks, so you must watch out for this!

Common Examples of Acidic Foods And Drinks
● Soft drinks: not just the fizzy kind! Take care to limit your intake of things like fruit juice, lemonade, and cordial.
● Citrus fruits: oranges, lemons, etc. Acidic citrus fruits are often consumed as a dish or accompaniment at meals such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Again, though, too much consumption of these acidic items can be harmful to your mouth health! It's best to balance them with other less acidic food and drink instead. Some people find that eating an orange first thing in the morning is beneficial for their overall well-being because Vitamin C helps boost our immune system - however you may want to consider whether you need to limit your intake of acidic foods like oranges.
● Fizzy drinks: not just cola! You'll find phosphoric acid in many fizzy beverages, which is what makes them 'fizzy' and means they have a high acidity level. When it comes to drinking fizzy drinks, then only do so now and again - if at all possible, try swapping them for healthier alternatives such as water more often instead. If you're craving something carbonated during the day, though, consider making soda with club soda or mineral water.

What Is A Healthy Amount Of Consumption Of Acidic Foods and Drinks?
There is no specific amount that we can say constitutes a healthy intake of acidic food and drinks. Instead, it's about striking the right balance between them and non-acidic foods and drinks, so you enjoy more of the latter! If your diet consists mainly or entirely of acidic foods and drinks, then this may be harmful to your teeth in particular - so try to eat less overall if possible. It's also important not just to limit consumption but reduce exposure too, like avoid brushing immediately after eating an acidic meal because acids will remain on our teeth even once we've eaten; they'll still erode at enamel for up to 20 minutes afterward. If you can avoid brushing your teeth for this length of time, then it would be beneficial.

Take Care Of Your Oral Health
Acidic foods and drinks impact our oral health in a big way! Be sure to limit consumption and ensure you eat and drink less acidic items, such as water, rather than more. We should also take care not to eat too many acidic meals back-to-back because this may increase the risk of enamel erosion along with other negative effects on long term mouth health. Try to reduce exposure by avoiding eating immediately after brushing or flossing  because acids will remain even once eaten. Alternatively, wait 20 minutes before resuming your routine. Visit us at the Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa to learn how to improve your oral health. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.