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Soft Drinks Are NOT Soft on Teeth

By Dr. Gary Sapienza

When your child is thirsty, does he or she reach for a soft drink? According to the Academy of General Dentistry, most people will grab a pop, soda or ice tea instead of water, especially during the summer months. It is not just cola’s empty calories with approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar (about 150 per 12-oz can) you should worry about. Many of these beverages, especially non-cola drinks and canned ice tea, harm enamel, the protective shell around the tooth.

A pilot study of the effects some of the beverages had on enamel appeared in a recent journal of General Dentistry. The study suggests that over time, exposing enamel to carbonated beverages and non-carbonated canned ice tea, weakens and permanently destroys enamel.

Healthy dental enamel was exposed to a variety of popular beverages for a period of 14 days. During that time it was discovered that non-colas and ice tea were especially harmful. They contain flavor additives such as malic, tartaric and other organic acids, which are aggressive at eroding teeth. Root beer, which contains the least amount of flavor additives, was found to be the least corrosive to enamel.

Approximately 27 percent of the beverages consumed by Americans are soft drinks. Overall, soft drink consumption has steadily increased over the years and remains on the rise. This contributes to an increase in oral health problems, namely cavities. In 1977, 12 to 19-year-olds drank 16 oz. of soda a day. In 1996, this same age group consumed an average of 28 oz. per day.

All substances that are harmful to your teeth, sugar included, need to have contact with your teeth over time for the destruction to occur. Therefore, you can fight the harmful effects of these beverages two ways. The first and most obvious is to limit the amount of soda and canned ice tea you drink. The less you drink, the less amount of harmful acid comes into contact with your teeth. The second is maybe a less obvious way to help protect your teeth. Limit the amount of time these harmful substances are exposed to your teeth. If you sip soda all day long for example, these substances are in contact with your teeth all day. However, if you were to drink the same amount of soda in one big gulp, the amount of time these substances would actually be in contact with your teeth, is limited to the time of the one big gulp. I am not recommending chugging your soda down, however.

Here are a few guidelines that may help minimize the damage that soda and canned ice tea do to your teeth.

Drinking at one time is better than sipping over a prolonged period of time.

Using a straw may help reduce the amount of soda and ice tea that comes into contact with your teeth.

Rinsing your mouth with water after drinking a soft drink. Drinking at mealtime is less injurious than when consumed alone.

Using toothpaste that contains fluoride.

If you would like any further information, Dr. Sapienza is located at 311 East Maple Avenue in Merchantville, NJ. His office staff can be reached at (856) 662-6152.