Non-cola drinks, such as energy or sport’s drinks, may be great for your physical health and stamina, but they can be a detriment to your oral health. Researchers have studied their effects on oral health and it showed a striking trend: the more teens and adults drink energy or sport’s drinks, especially lemonade, the more aggressive dissolution effects on teeth enamel.

In a 13-year-period, the researchers soaked human enamel for 14-days into different forms of non-cola and cola drinks; sport’s drinks, commercial lemonade, and bottled iced tea and black tea were included. They found a shocking discovery. The enamel damage caused by non-cola and sport beverages were between 3 to 11 times greater than cola-based beverages. Energy drinks and lemonade were the worst.

The more sugar intake, the more risk associated with decay. Soft drinks contain phosphoric and citric acid, which dissolves tooth enamel, resulting in loss of hard tissues from tooth surfaces and erosion. Acid in food and drink are a major cause of enamel erosion, according to the American Dental Association or ADA, and sees many teen and adults consuming record amounts of sugar, in the forms of supposedly healthy drinks, such as fruit juices and sport’s and energy drinks.

If you do consume these types of drinks, drinking through a straw is healthier, and prevents direct contact with the teeth. Also, swishing with water after drinking sugar-laden colas can help get the sugar off the teeth.

For more information about sugar, acid and other oral hazards in Burbank, California, contact us for an appointment with Dr. Payam Bostani. You can reach us at (818) 918-5533, and we hope to see you soon at Dr. Bostani’s Advanced Dental.