Oct 31, 2005 8:35 am US/Central
Acid Reflux Can Cause Tooth Decay
(WCCO)
If you have acid reflux, brushing your teeth, flossing and gargling may not be enough to save your smile.
Alex Zimmerman could not understand why he kept getting cavities.
"I brush in the morning, I'm flossing every evening," he said. "I make sure I use a fluoride toothpaste prescribed by my doctor."
Despite that, his dental woes continued to worsen.
"I recently started to notice a translucency, an actual fading of the teeth and the bottom, where if I put my tongue against my teeth, it's almost as if they are becoming see-through," Zimmerman said.
After further probing, Zimmerman's dentist noticed high levels of acid on his teeth, but not from foods he ate. The acid was coming form his stomach.
Zimmerman said he had no idea he had acid reflux and it was ruining his teeth.
"If the acid attacks the teeth aggressively, you're going to have high sensitivity rate, you're going to have a lot of cavities, you're going to lose vertical dimension in your teeth because your teeth are going to become shorter," said Dr. Jennifer Jablow, a cosmetic dentist.
More than 60 million people experience acid reflux or gastro esophageal reflux symptoms. If ignored, it could lead to serious damage, including esophageal cancer.
The highly-corrosive acid is found naturally in the stomach, but for many sufferers, the acid makes its way from the esophagus to the mouth. Dentists said they are now seeing the acid latch onto teeth.
"If you put a tooth in a glass of soda and a tooth in a glass of gastric acid, it would be three times faster that the tooth in the gastric acid would dissolve," Jablow said.
Dr. Eric Morgenstern said 20 percent of acid reflux sufferers don't even know they have it and often, dentists are the first to diagnose the problem.
"If your hygienist or dentist should tell you that it looks like you have some periodontal disease or dental enamel problem, the next question should be 'do you suffer from reflux,'" said Morgenstern.
Zimmerman now wears a mouth guard at night to protect his teeth.
Acid reflux is usually treated with a combination of prescription drugs, such as Nexium or Prilosec. Lifestyle changes, including altering eating habits, may also help.
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