Promoting Optimal Oral Health - Saliva PH
The pH within one’s mouth can be a major factor contributing to dental decay. Remember, a cavity can only occur when bacteria fed too much of the wrong types of food release acidic waste products that lower the salivary pH below 7.0 for an extended period of time. While acidic foods and beverage might not directly cause a cavity, they can compound the problem by keeping the pH in your mouth naturally low before the start of a meal, along with causing other forms of dental erosion. This is why strategies to keep one’s salivary pH at a healthy level throughout the day (especially in between planned meals and snacks) are so important.
Certain factors contributing to a lower or more acidic salivary pH:
Inadequate fluid intake
Grazing on acidic foods or sipping on acidic drinks all day long
Mouth breathing
Chronic stress
Genetics
Three simple strategies can be highly effective for raising one’s pH after a meal:
Include highly alkaline foods such as leafy greens with most meals
Consider rinsing one’s mouth with a homemade and easy to prepare mouthwash containing naturally alkaline ingredients like baking soda
Rinsing one’s mouth with water, which usually contains a more neutral pH can also be an option (although it might not be sufficient for more cavity prone individuals)
Buffering capacity is essentially the ability of one’s body to neutralize the saliva following a meal. This occurs when sodium bicarbonate, the main component of commercial baking soda, is released into one’s mouth. Eating a more acidic diet, lactic acid accumulation, impaired digestion function, and a poorly controlled disease state can all reduce the amount of sodium bicarbonate available to neutralize one’s saliva. Improving one’s buffering capacity is a long term process, and I would highly suggest that individuals predisposed towards dental decay focus more on raising their salivary pH throughout the day.
* If you are curious to see how food and drinks impact your salivary acidity, purchase some litmus paper and touch a new piece to your mouth periodically throughout the day.