Apple cider vinegar ruined my teeth

People don’t realise that doing this one thing in the pursuit of ideal systemic health, can actually cause irreversible tooth damage.

Table of Contents Show

The effects of apple cider vinegar cider on your teeth
Problems with undiluted apple cider vinegar
How to use apple cider vinegar effectively
Integrative Dentistry
Can apple cider vinegar mess up your teeth?
How do I take apple cider vinegar without damaging my teeth?

You may have heard people taking lemon, lemon juice, or even apple cider vinegar in the morning to improve various aspects of their systemic health.

The proposed health benefits are vast, but most notably, people talk about an improvement of digestion and also the changes that lemon and apple cider vinegar can make to people’s blood alkalinity.

Now I don’t actually intend to comment on how well lemon juice or apple cider vinegar actually add to systemic health, because the benefits actually outweigh anything that we even know at the moment. But what I do want to draw people’s attention to are some of the very serious and real consequences of adding this as a daily regime of someone’s health habits.

On the upside, lemon, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar have these potent antioxidants and phytochemical, minerals and nutrients which we can’t argue with. They’re great. The downside risk of this, however, is that every day you are putting high strength acids directly onto the tooth structure.

This directly increases your risk of having tooth erosion, structure loss from your teeth and decay. So while there may be some great health benefits … We can’t argue, vitamins, nutrients, phytochemicals, antioxidants are great things. I have seen many patients in my own clinic with irreversible damage and structure loss to their teeth because of this one habit.

Now, I cannot to pretend to understand everyone’s health journey. So if you are doing this for real health reasons, then make sure you do one of the next few things.

You’ve got to have a glass of water immediately after you finish the lemon or apple cider vinegar. This will immediately provide a neutralisation of the pH in your mouth, reducing the effects of those acids.
Do not brush in the 30 minutes following this habit, because if you do, you will immediately lose tooth structure from the recently acid-affected areas of the teeth.

There are products out there that have the ability to mineralise the natural crystals in your teeth without the use of fluoride. The most common version of this product is called tooth mousse and you can get it fluoride-free. But remember, it is a supplement like a medication, because we’re fighting acid-affected teeth. So there are things in it that aren’t natural.

This is just my opinion as I care for my patients based on the clinical experiences and the real problems that this has posed for many people that I’ve dealt with in my office.

Let me know your thoughts and your opinions. We’ll start a real conversation about this lemon, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar health trend.

The effects of apple cider vinegar cider on your teeth

You may have seen articles praising the health benefits of apple cider vinegar. Some insist you should drink it every day, or even before every meal. You may not know, however, that frequent consumption of apple cider vinegar actually can harm your teeth.

Why does this happen? It is because of its high acidic quality. Containing malic acid and acetic acid, apple cider vinegar has an average pH between 2.5 and 3.0. Distilled water, a neutral solution, has a pH of 7.0.

The low pH of apple cider vinegar makes it a threat to your oral health if precautions are not taken. If you regularly consume apple cider vinegar for its reported health benefits, you always should dilute the substance.

Problems with undiluted apple cider vinegar

Undiluted apple cider vinegar is acidic enough to weaken the enamel on your teeth. Weakened enamel increases your vulnerability to tooth decay and cavities, plus cause your teeth to be sensitive. Individuals with a particularly heavy consumption of undiluted apple cider vinegar also may experience swelling or burns inside their oral cavity.

Certain websites recommend that people use apple cider vinegar as a mouthwash. Do not do this! This can cause major problems for your oral health.

How to use apple cider vinegar effectively

Dilute any apple cider vinegar into a solution that contains at least five parts of water for every part of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar also is available in pill form, which may be the safest means to ingest it while protecting your oral health.

It is strongly recommended that you never drink apple cider vinegar straight from the bottle.

Natural remedies can have a greater effect on your oral health than you might realize. If you ever have any questions, contact Pittsford Dental Excellence Center at (585) 248-2575. A member of our staff will be happy to assist you.

Integrative Dentistry

Integrative medicine determines how and why illness occurs. It aims to restore health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual. Integrative medical practitioners view the body as one integrated system, not a collection of independent organs divided up by medical specialties.

Integrative medicine based dentistry is the application of the principles and practices of integrative medicine with the practice of the art and science of dentistry.

If you would like to know more download the guide on this page or contact us today.

Pittsford Dental Excellence Center is here to serve patients in the area of Fairport, Pittsford, and Rochester, NY.

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Can apple cider vinegar mess up your teeth?

Undiluted apple cider vinegar is acidic enough to weaken the enamel on your teeth. Weakened enamel increases your vulnerability to tooth decay and cavities, plus cause your teeth to be sensitive.