As temperatures heat up and people take to backyards and beaches, keeping hydrated becomes even more important. There is little doubt that plain water is the best drink choice to promote overall health. But water is a bit boring, especially when we can so easily be enticed by sports drinks, energy drinks, carbonated beverages and juice.
It might make your decision on what to drink a little easier if you understand how those sugary and acidic drinks can take a toll on your teeth.
When you consume sugary drinks, a select group of harmful bacteria produce acid in your mouth.1 The presence of this acid starts demineralization, a process which removes minerals from the tooth enamel, which is the shiny, protective, outer layer of your tooth. Saliva is the body’s way of constantly reversing this damage through a process called remineralization where the saliva, in addition to water and fluoride from toothpaste, help the enamel repair itself from an acid attack.
If those acid attacks are frequent however, mineral loss causes the tooth enamel to weaken, and a hole in the tooth, or what is referred to as a cavity, forms.
There have been research studies on the effect of sugary drinks on tooth health. One popular study which is often cited on this topic was published in the Academy of General Dentistry clinical journal, General Dentistry, in May/June 2012. The study revealed that high acidity levels in sports and energy drinks eroded tooth enamel, especially among adolescents who are more likely to consume these drinks and to consume more of these drinks than other age groups.
Researchers examined the acidity levels in 13 sports drinks and 9 energy drinks and found that the acidity levels can vary between brands of beverages and flavors of the same brand. After immersing samples of extracted human teeth in the each beverage for 15 minutes, followed by immersion in artificial saliva for two hours and repeating the cycle four times daily for five days, researchers found that damage to enamel was evident after only five days of exposure to sports or energy drinks.
The researchers further discovered that energy drinks caused twice as much damage to teeth as sports drinks.2 In rebuttal, the American Beverage Association issued a statement that the four drinks per day used in the study did not reflect typical consumer consumption and that consumers don’t keep any beverage in their mouths for 15 minutes.3
There have been other studies, however, which have also shown how sugary beverages hurt teeth. A large scale study of adults in Finland, published in 2014, revealed that drinking one to two sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) a day was linked to a 31 percent higher risk of cavities.4
Further a research study, published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry in March 2017, revealed that the frequency of SSB consumption was positively associated with tooth loss among young adults even when the average SSB intake was less than one time per day.5
It is difficult to completely eliminate sugary beverages from your diet. Some tips to minimize the threat these beverages pose to your teeth include drinking the beverage at one time, rather than taking occasional sips throughout the day. This prevents repeated and prolonged acid attacks on your teeth.
Chewing sugar-free gum after drinking sugary beverages can also help, as would rinsing the mouth with water after drinking sugary beverages. The gum and the water will both increase saliva flow, which remineralizes the teeth.
Also, wait at least 30 minutes after drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, or up to an hour after consuming sport or energy drinks, to brush your teeth, as your mouth needs that time to bring the pH level back to normal.6 Rootbeer is perhaps the best choice of soft drinks since it is non-carbonated and, according to a recent report in General Dentistry, does not contain the acids that harm teeth.7
Dr. Sedki and his staff at Sedki Dentistry want you to enjoy life with a healthy mouth and smile. Regular dental checkups and teeth cleanings are highly recommended and routine for good dental health.
Our goal is to work with our patients in achieving and maintaining long term dental health and a beautiful smile. Call Sedki Dentistry in Commerce Twp today and schedule a checkup!
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1, 4 How Sugar Causes Cavities and Destroys Your Teeth, by Verena Tan, RD, PhD, 4/6/2017
Link: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-sugar-destroys-teeth
2 Sports and Energy Drinks Responsible for Irreversible Damage to Teeth
Link: https://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=s&iid=333&aid=10692
3, 6 Energy Drinks: Bad for the Teeth? by Kathleen Doheny, WebMD
Link: https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20120503/are-energy-drinks-bad-for-teeth#1
5 Permanent Tooth Loss and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake in U.S. Young Adults, Journal of Public Health Dentistry, March 2017
Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27886383
7 Root Beer May Be “Safest” Soft Drink for Teeth, Colgate
Link: https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/basics/nutrition-and-oral-health/ada-06-root-beer-safe