Is Lemon Juice Bad For Your Teeth?
Many people around the world enjoy drinks made from or flavored with lemon juice from time to time in their lives as a way of either boosting their immune system, aid digestion, and help with weight loss, or both, as claimed by the majority of users.
Lemons contain a high amount of vitamin C, soluble fiber, and plant compounds which give you numerous health gains. However, lemons also contain corrosive citric acid, which can be destructive to the tooth enamel.
Acidity And Oral Health
Lemon juice can only become alkaline after it is fully digested and metabolized. So, it is critical to ingest or consume lemon juice sparingly, considering that the acid in it may and will eventually affect your tooth enamel.
Drinking warm water with lemon juice first thing in the morning can help flush out the digestive system and rehydrate the body; because, during the night, your body has been in a rest situation, and likely, you haven’t had any meal or drink for many hours, and lemon water is a perfect way to stimulate your body and mind.
Lemon is highly acidic, and for that matter, skin irritation is among the most common side effects of using fruit acids. That will make you experience dryness, redness, and peeling of your skin or gum that can be worse, especially with sensitive skin.
Lemon Juice And Your Teeth
Drinking lemon juice regularly can lead to enamel erosion or tooth decay due to the citric acid in it. As your enamel erodes, it becomes thinner, and this allows the yellow dentin that lies beneath the enamel to be exposed, making your teeth indented and yellower that may also feel coarse to the tongue.
Your water temperature has got an impact on the effect the lemon juice will cause on your teeth. That is because the rate of chemical reaction increases with the increase in temperature and tooth erosion will be more severe at advanced temperatures.
Common Tooth Enamel Erosion Symptoms
- Below are some of the common indicators of an eroded tooth
- If you begin to notice indention or cupping on your teeth, this is a signal that the teeth have eroded.
- Yellow teeth. When the inner-yellowish layer beneath the enamel is visible, then that is an indication that the enamel is eroding.
- Chipped teeth. When you experience a jagged tooth surface, that can be sharp, tender, and disfiguring.
- Tooth Sensitivity
How To Drink Lemon Juice Without Affecting Your Teeth
For lemon juice lovers who would like to drink the juice without harming their tooth enamel needs to consider the following points.
Limit The Amount You Drink
Instead of putting lemon in your water as a standard practice, you need to consider the amount of lemon juice you are adding to your water and whether it should be regular by making it more of a special occasion.
The less regular exposure to acid, the stronger your teeth will remain because even with a reduced concentration of lemon ingested can still give you the health benefits.
Dilute With High Volume Of Water
The amount of water that you need to ensure that your lemon juice is well diluted to safe levels is critically important, and the better for your tooth enamel. Consider drinking a lot of water with a little lemon to limit its corrosiveness to your tooth enamel.
Use A Straw
You can drink the juice with a straw to help reduce the degree to which the lemon juice is in contact with the teeth: bypassing the teeth and bringing the acidic liquid more towards the back of your mouth away from your teeth. Try to avoid plastic straws for their impact on the environment.
Eat Alkaline Foods And Sugar-Free Gums
Chewing sugar-free gum after drinking lemon water provides xylitol that alkalizes your mouth and will neutralize acid and also helps you produce more saliva that neutralizes the acidity in your mouth by its alkaline nature.
Food types that help neutralize the acidic content of your lemon are encouraged immediately after consuming your lemon juice to reduce the eroding of the enamel.
Rinse Your Mouth With Plain Water
Once you have finished drinking your glass of lemon juice, rinse your mouth immediately with water to help remove any acid that may have remained on the tooth surface and reduce the acidity of the oral saliva. Saliva contains minerals which offset the demineralization that can occur from consuming acidic food.
Do Not Brush Your Teeth For At Least 30Minutes After Drinking Juice
You should not brush your teeth for almost 30 minutes from the time you finish drinking the lemon juice or any acidic beverage. Brushing and using pastes with incorporated abrasive substances can further make the softened enamel thinner, so rinse with water, wait, and then use a soft brush and brush gently.
Use Fluoride Toothpaste And Soft Toothbrushes
Since fluoride toughens your enamel, use a soft toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste and never brush your teeth aggressively since acid softens the enamel and makes it more easily eroded during brushing.
Brush Before Drinking
You can also brush your teeth before you drink your lemon water so long as you are ready to wait a little while to allow the pellicle to create a barrier on the enamel against acids that is a common feature with a healthy mouth.
Cut Out Sugar
Some bottled lemon juices often have no sufficient nutritional value and are mostly loaded with artificial sweeteners and additives that your teeth may not only suffer from the acidity but also the sugar.
Get more calcium and vitamins to protect your teeth
Vitamin D is double necessary to your dental health because it does not only boost mineral density but also ensures the health of your teeth by carrying, absorbing, and depositing calcium in the bones that support your teeth. Some fortified cereals and dairy products are good sources of vitamin D, but you can also get it naturally from the sun.
Conclusion
Your body needs nutrients and vitamins found in some acidic foods and drinks. When deciding on your diet, don’t rule out foods that are good for you but instead consider your dental health.
Eat a well-balanced diet and follow the points above on how you can enjoy your lemon juice while at the same time preserving your enamel because it never grows back when lost.