Question

To protect tooth decay we are advised to brush our teeth regularly. The nature of the tooth paste commonly used is:
A.) Acidic
B.) Neutral
C.) Basic
D.) Corrosive

Answer 1

Hint: Human teeth are made up of four different types of tissues: pulp, dentin, enamel and cementum. Teeth consist mostly of hard, inorganic minerals like calcium. And we know that food and drink change the pH level of saliva.

Step by step solution:
Mouth has salivary amylase enzyme and the process of digestion starts from mouth by making an acidic environment in mouth. For example: Sugar, Even though sugar itself does not contain high levels of acidity, it promotes the growth of acid creating bacteria in our mouth.
A healthy mouth is in a neutral pH range.
At a pH of 5.5 the teeth begin to demineralize, putting teeth at risk for cavities. And for keeping our mouth healthy, we must keep oral acidity to a minimum.
One reason for tooth damage is stomach acid: vomiting and reflux also can cause serious tooth damage when stomach acid comes into contact with our teeth.
So, to neutralize acidic mouth we have to take alkaline or basic toothpaste, which prevents damage to teeth by acidic environment.

So, the correct answer is “B”.
Acidic toothpaste will make a more acidic environment which is dangerous for teeth and neutral environment can’t decrease the acidity of mouth and in our mouth no corrosion type of phenomenon takes place, so there is no sense of taking these types of toothpastes.

Note: Teeth can actually become stronger and remineralize when the mouth has a pH of 7.5 or above. And regular toothpaste has an average pH of 8.