Day & night relief from dry mouth! Let XyliMelts moisturise and bring relief to your dry mouth! Shop Now
Enamel Care Before Cavities; Enamel Care Beyond Cavities
With 84% of adults falling into groups at risk of tooth decay, you can take preventative action
IT HAPPENS
There you were, thinking you’d done your best with your teeth but you’re reclining in the dentist’s chair picking your jaw off the floor as you hear the words enamel erosion and beginnings of decay.
More than 4 in 5 of us are vulnerable to tooth decay. While the statistic won’t stop feelings of frustration, confusion, maybe embarrassment, it could help open our minds to the fact the causes of tooth decay are not a simple equation.
ONE: Prioritise discussion with your dentist about what may have weakened your enamel
It’s unlikely we just got careless brushing our teeth. A small gap in oral health knowledge around tooth enamel can mean decay develops quietly, over months or years in people who are genuinely trying their best to look after their oral health.
Let’s fill the gap
Tooth decay always begins with weakened enamel allowing the bacteria that cause decay to sneak in.
At the microscopic level, long before your dentist revs up the drill, tooth enamel can begin to lose minerals. This can be picked up by your dentist who may spot faint white patches, frosty looking enamel or early surface softening.
The factors that cause enamel erosion and tooth decay vary
Talk your dentist through medications you take, medical conditions you may have and your oral care routine. These factors affect the integrity of your tooth enamel. One irony is that aggressive brushing can put enamel at risk. It’s one of the reasons why it’s important to know the changes to make to your routine.
The next steps forward?
We can protect you! Early erosion or decay are easily manageable dental issues
THERE IS GOOD NEWS! HURRAH!
With the right daily routine, like the VITIS Cavity Repair and Protect Kit toothpaste and mouthwash formulations, you can:
- Re-establish your teeth’s resilience
- Prevent further damage
- Strengthen your enamel
Remember: Tooth decay doesn’t begin with a cavity, it begins with enamel erosion
The Enamel Care Kit is designed specifically to:
- Remineralise tooth enamel. Now that’s fortification!
- Form a protective layer resistant to acid attack. Acid can wash off!
- Reduce sensitivity (an early sign of enamel erosion). Hello, chilled drinks!
- Hinder the formation of bacterial plaque that cause decay. Bacteria? Foiled.
- Respect your mouth with an alcohol-free formulation. It’s the bonus of no ooh-ah dance while you rinse.
How do hydroxyapatite, triphosphate and fluoride remineralise tooth enamel?
LET’S GO DEEPER
Understanding how ingredients look after your tooth enamel can help make enamel care habits stick. No need to repeat the Periodic Table, just let these Three Musketeers do the work for you:
1. Nanohydroxyapaptite or HApRepair Technology
Nanohydroxyapatite is a biomimetic mineral almost identical to natural enamel. It can fill tiny weak spots in enamel, smooth its surface, meaning that plaque has less chance to take up residence, and create a more acid-resistant barrier.
Used daily as VITIS Anticaries Toothpaste plus VITIS Anticaries Mouthwash, this nanoparticle helps tip the balance back in your enamel’s favour.
2. Fluoride
A familiar part of most people’s oral care routines. This old friend helps replace lost minerals and harden tooth enamel. Just call it extra armour for enamel.
3. Triphosphate
Triphosphate works alongside fluoride and nano-hydroxyapatite to create a stronger, more resilient enamel surface, reducing plaque build-up. Triphosphate is key in interfering with the process acid initiates that breaks up the tightly packed crystals of tooth enamel. Triphosphate steps in and helps you maintain enamel’s integrity.
Why early enamel protection matters
ENAMEL CARE? WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
Enamel doesn’t grow back once it’s lost. But weakened enamel can be strengthened — and early action means:
Less sensitivity
Lower risk of cavities
Protected dentine
Fewer dental interventions in the future
You’re reinforcing the integrity of your teeth. Small, consistent steps now prevent bigger problems later.
Where is enamel erosion and tooth decay most likely to start in my mouth?
EQUIP WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS
The bacteria that cause problems like to sit undisturbed on teeth. They’re stealthy and squirrel themselves into those spots that can easily be neglected.
Amp up your armour against plaque – the community of bacteria that streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli live amongst.
Alongside the daily care of a Cavity Repair and Protect Kit, the right tools can winkle out plaque from those hard-to-reach places.
Early decay often forms:
- In grooves of molars: Brush chewing surfaces with a soft bristled toothbrush and use VITIS Anticaries Mouthwash with HAP Repair in between brushing.
- In between teeth: Make using interdental brushes a breeze. Interprox Interdental Brushes are the gold standard and are no hardship to slip between your teeth or, indeed, into your oral care routine. Floss where you can’t use an interdental brush.
- Near the gumline: A Monotip Brush helps you pay additional attention to the gumline – a quick massage where teeth meet the gums after your main brushing efforts can go a long way to protect this vulnerable area of your mouth. A little squeeze of VITIS Anticaries Toothpaste with HAP Repair will also deliver those key ingredients where they’re needed.
- Know your mouth map: Understand where your mouth may be more vulnerable. If you’re wearing a fixed retainer, you’ll need to pay attention the cement around it as this is rougher than enamel and plaque can find a little nook to inhabit unbeknown to you. That Monotip Brush is key here.
Meet the true villains of tooth decay: streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli
REMEMBER: YOU’RE NOT THE VILLAIN
Once enamel erosion begins, two bacteria that are responsible for tooth decay, which are always naturally present in your mouth, can now attach and grow more easily.
Streptococcus mutans is adept at producing acid, particularly in a sugar or carbohydrate rich environment. This is the bacteria that causes initial decay.
Lactobacilli take over once the lesion has begun and the acid they produce facilitate the decay becoming deeper.
It’s not a lack of moral fibre on your part, it’s biology!
Adjusting the care and attention you give your tooth enamel makes a big difference to your oral health
IF THE ‘WORST’ HAS HAPPENED
Make it easy to do daily with a subscription to a Cavity Repair and Protect Kit.
At Healthy Smile Pharmacy, our subscriptions are flexible to suit your needs, and your tooth enamel might just thank you for it!
Keep brushing!
Further Reading
(84%) of all adults in the UK fall into groups that put them at higher risk of tooth decay is cited by a news article in the British Dental Nurses’ Journal
