I work at a dental office
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Best thing to do is rinse your mouth after drinking acidic drinks. This dilutes the acid. You cannot rebuild enamel but you can (minimally) reharden soft enamel. Once you brush away your enamel it's gone for good.
I'm a research writer by trade, so you know I dove into the paperwork before I treated myself!
There are a lot of dental schools of thought on enamel. It is not a uniform, solid body of thought. In this region of the country, universities teach that once it is lost, it is gone. So dental care in this region is drill and fill, period. If you find an "advanced" dentist, he or she may also sell you a prescription, high-fluoride toothpaste.
However, there is research that indicates that as long as the caries has not progressed to the point where the enamel is completely removed and underlying dentin is destroyed, enamel can be regenerated.
Also, research shows that if the enamel is perforated to an extent where it cannot be regenerated, but the underlying dentin is intact, the tooth can remineralize. Remineralization is a natural process by which the dentin replaces the lost enamel with a hard mineral layer that is actually harder than the enamel was. The resulting surface is darker that the tooth's enamel but can be whitened for appearance. Once a dentist drills and fills, however, the tubules in the dentin in that area are destroyed and remineralization cannot take place anymore.
Supplementation with K2 complex has been proven in research to aid in teeth healing themselves, and it has been identified in anthropological research as the key factor in why many societies lacking dental procedures none the less have strong teeth that last a lifetime, across a wide variety of diets. High intake of vitamin K complex from food sources was found to be a key to strong, healthy teeth. These studies were begun when it was noticed that caries appeared predominantly to be a problem of modern industrialized societies.
There is also research that seems to indicate that it is the total acidity of the saliva, rather than the acidity of the food eaten, that is key in caries formation. There are pH strips available for saliva testing. Research indicates that saliva pH is key to the types of bacteria present, and the mix of bacterial population has a direct result on caries formation or prevention.
In Britain, a new invention now undergoing human testing aids in naturally healing caries by applying a small electrical current to the tooth. It has already proven itself in animal testing.
Of course, all this is nonsense for some dentists. If I even mention anything but drill and fill to dental professionals here, I am quickly shut down.
I'm sure that's all TMI, for sure. LOL.
But my own experience has been wonderful. I can "feel" my "cavities" with a fingernail, and see them with a dental mirror. But they have been remineralized. So far so good.
I really should go in for a cleaning, but by chewing xylitol gum and carefully brushing and flossing, I've been able to keep things clean. If I do schedule one, I'll make it clear up front that all I want is a cleaning.
