My wife and kids escaping the summer heat.
A recent unpublished report details a woman who experienced significant damage to her teeth from swimming in a pool that was too acidic. The woman had a dental exam 1 week before she went on vacation to Cuba. She swam for 2 ½ hours each day for 10 days in the pool at the resort where she stayed. After returning to the US, she returned to her dentist and told him that her teeth felt strange. The dentist found that she had lost all of the enamel on her teeth and a full mouth reconstruction was required to restore the lost tooth structure.
Where I live, swimming pools are just below water and air when it comes to essentials for life. When the temperature hits 125, most people would not shy away from a pool that had more p than H. But an acidic pool could be causing irreversible damage to your teeth.
Enamel is demineralized below a pH of 5.5. Even if your pool’s pH is not that low, you add the acidity of the orange juice you had for breakfast, and the sports drink you had afterwards, and your teeth may lose a significant amount of minerals.
Your pool is one possible contributor to tooth wasting syndrome. This is a very destructive but often overlooked process that causes progressive loss of tooth structure. Other factors include clenching and grinding, reflux, and abrasion.
So start the summer off right, check your pool’s pH and talk to your dentist about keeping your teeth healthy this summer.
Where I live, swimming pools are just below water and air when it comes to essentials for life. When the temperature hits 125, most people would not shy away from a pool that had more p than H. But an acidic pool could be causing irreversible damage to your teeth.
Enamel is demineralized below a pH of 5.5. Even if your pool’s pH is not that low, you add the acidity of the orange juice you had for breakfast, and the sports drink you had afterwards, and your teeth may lose a significant amount of minerals.
Your pool is one possible contributor to tooth wasting syndrome. This is a very destructive but often overlooked process that causes progressive loss of tooth structure. Other factors include clenching and grinding, reflux, and abrasion.
So start the summer off right, check your pool’s pH and talk to your dentist about keeping your teeth healthy this summer.
This is an excellent article Dr. James!
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