Demineralization is promoted by acidic foods and beverages and by acids from bacterial action on food particles. It is also promoted by the habits of constantly sipping water, or sucking on acidic candies (even sugar-free acidic candies).
In a normal mouth, saliva (with its high concentrations of calcium and phosphate) remineralizes the teeth constantly. In a dry mouth, something else must play that remineralizing role.
A supersaturated remineralizing solution developed by Dr. Athena Papas, D.M.D, Ph.D., Director of the Rubenstein Oral Health Management Clinic at Tufts New England Medical Center, has worked for me as needed since 1996. I find it effective in remineralizing teeth, and I find it soothing to distressed oral tissues. It seems also to help quell candidiasis. As far as safety goes: although a prescription is required, these are fairly innocuous ingredients -- same calcium and phosphate as in normal saliva, but at about 10-fold concentration.
Caphosol is available by prescription only. Marketing of Caphosol is in the early stages (as of January 2003, there is at last a Web site for Caphosol: http://www.caphosol.com), so your physicians are unlikely to have heard of it. Your prescription can be written by your doctor or dentist; print this sample prescription and take it to your doctor or dentist. Caphosol is available through http://www.rxusa.com for Web or phone order. Or if you prefer to pay lots more, you can get it from a pharmacy in Needham, Massachusetts, USA..
Caphosol solution is described, in more detail than anybody but a chemist wants, in US Patent number 5,993,785
