Are Sodas Destroying You Teeth?

Well, it sure looks like it when it comes to your teeth!

In a recent study published in the Journal of the Academy Of General Dentistry, it was found that sodas are very destructive.

What was somewhat surprising was the specific sodas that did the most damage.

A Personal Story

I have observed for many years the destructive effects to the teeth of drinking a lot of soft drinks , in particular, Mountain Dew. In fact, whenever I see extensive decay in adults and teenagers, I always suspect they have been heavy consumers of soft drinks.

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I remember one particular young man in his 20s. He was, honestly, in very bad shape.

I asked John(not his real name) if he drank a lot of sodas. He nodded yes.

I then asked him if he drank Mountain Dew.

He looked astonished."Howdid you know?!

I then quietly told him that I had learned from experience that adults with lots of decay often were big consumers of soft drinks, especially Mountain Dew.

It seems that Mountain Dew is used as a coffee substitute because of it's caffeine content.

The study itself confirmed much of what we have seen from personal experience about the deterimental effects of sodas on the teeth. They are bad for the teeth

We have long known about this.

The soft drink producers are better than we as dentists in promoting their products!

What was surprising was the significantly worse effects of non-colas than colas. Typically, colas have high sugar contents. The non-colas have a number of acids within them that give the drink part of its flavor. These acids appear to be more detrimental than the sugars. Even flavored teas were on the bad list.

Sprite was worse than Coke. Mountain dew was the worst of all- almost 5 times worse than Coke.

Ouch!

Even diet drinks were found to be bad for your teeth. Some diet drinks were worse than thieir sugared brethren.

What to do:

1. Limit your consumption of sodas

2. Rinse youe mouth with water after drinking any soda if you have a chance

3.Consume your soda with food

4.Don't sip on sodas all day long as is often the habit if those who don't drink many sodas. They just take a long time to drink the ones they do drink. Sodas are not for long term sipping. You'll keep the acids and sugars in contact with your teeth for too long.

5. Clean your mouth thoroughly ( two to three

minutes) at least once a day                 

Best,

Dr Charles W Martin,DDS