Are you a soda or pop drinker? What about sports drinks or juice?
Sipping on any of those drinks all day can be extremely harmful to your oral health. Dr. Ross believes that it is important to know what these drinks can do to your oral health.
The sugar in soda/pop does damage your teeth, but sugar might not be the worst culprit in the bottle! The acids and preservatives in soda play a huge part in eroding tooth enamel, and this includes diet soda, too. Acids lower the pH of the saliva in your mouth. This allows bacteria to multiply on the surface of the teeth, causing erosion. Enamel protects the inner layer of our teeth (dentin) from decay, so when the dentin is eroded, the decay is able to reach the dentin and this causes cavities. When the pH balance of our saliva is disturbed for multiple hours and does not get a chance to neutralize again, the calcium particles that harden our enamel are lost and replaced with the citric acid and phosphate particles that are found in the soda.
When the enamel change happens, the teeth look different. They no longer look as white; they might even appear translucent around the edges or more yellow as more dentin shows through the thinning enamel. The chewing surface of the tooth can appear dented, rounded or uneven. Since the enamel has been eroded, it no longer protects the dentin and teeth become more sensitive to temperature, sometimes even causing pain or a tingling sensation.
A report from a recent Dentistry Journal stated that over time a soda drinker’s teeth are comparable to the teeth of a person who has used crystal meth or crack cocaine! The study followed 3 different people. One was a 29-year-old admitted meth user. Another person was a 51-year-old who abused cocaine for 18 years. The third person drank an excessive amount of diet soda, about two liters a day for three to five years. All three had poor oral hygiene and did not visit the dentist on a regular basis.
“Each person experienced severe tooth erosion caused by the high acid levels present in their ‘drug’ of choice – -meth, crack, or soda,” lead report author Dr. Mohamed A. Bassiouny, a dentist in Oreland, Pa., said in a press release.
All three of these addictions are high in acid.
Below are two pictures. One picture is a person who has used meth and the other drinks soda. Can you tell the difference?
This person drinks soda.
This is a picture of decay caused by meth
Now that we understand the harmful side effects that the acid and sugar found in soda have on our teeth, we can understand why sports drinks and fruit juices have the same effect on our teeth — both beverages contain sugar and are very acidic.
Fruit contains sugar. When it is made into a juice, more sugar is added. The sugar breaks down the enamel the same way soda does. Cranberry juice and lime juice are both acidic. Most fruit juices are actually more acidic than soda. A study was done on orange juice, and the results showed that Orange juice roughened the surface of the teeth and decreased the enamel structure, leaving the teeth more prone to plaque buildup and cavities.
The results from tests using both juice and sports drinks appear similar to soda. Often, we see these results in children who drink a lot of juice, and in teens who drink a lot of sports drinks.
This child has decay present. This is what juice can do to a child’s teeth.
1) Limit yourself. Sipping all day on these beverages, as we know, hurts the pH balance in our saliva. So limiting yourself is the key.
2) Water. Drinking water after indulging in these beverages will help neutralize the pH balance. This will allow our saliva to produce helpful particles while also helping to wash away the sugar and citric acid on the teeth.
3) Oral Hygiene. Brushing and flossing twice a day is VERY important for keeping your teeth and gums healthy. When you do indulge in these beverages however, we do want you to wait at least half an hour before brushing your teeth. Crazy right? Brushing right away can actually cause more corrosion to the enamel due to that acidity.
4) Regular Dental Visits. These visits will help catch the cavities when they are small and easy to fix rather than when they are big and painful, which can also be more costly.
Dr. Ross and everyone here at Ross Family Dentistry hope that this brings some awareness to the damage these beverages can do to your oral health. We hope you all keep those pearly whites nice and shiny!