People need at least 8 ounces of liquid each day to stay hydrated and healthy. The beverages you choose can make a major impact on your oral health and overall wellness. Millions of people consume sports drinks, sodas, and caffeinated beverages each day, never knowing that these drinks are harming their oral health. People are also consuming energy drinks and coffees at a rate that has never before been seen. All of these beverages can harm your tooth enamel due to the sugars and various acids they contain. Learn about the substances in the beverages you drink, how they harm your teeth, and what you can do to protect your tooth enamel from decay.

Sugar Drinks

One aspect about drinks that people don’t think of often is the sugar content. There are countless beverages out there that harm your teeth simply because of how much sugar they contain. For example, a 12 ounce size of sprite has about 23 grams of sugar in it. A Gatorade has 21 grams of sugar in it’s 12 ounce size, but 32 grams in a regular size. What’s even worse is that a 12 ounce can of coke has 39 grams of sugar in it, making it one of the worst sugary drinks you can have.

Sugar damages your teeth because it’s the food that plaque feeds off of. Without sugar, your body wouldn’t make plaque, that sticky, acidic substance that creates a film on your teeth. If you don’t brush away that film, that plaque will erode away your tooth enamel over time. This causes cavities both large and small as well as problems such as gum disease. Sugar can really harm your teeth in a hurry. We recommend choosing non-sugar beverages such as water or milk to avoid tooth decay.

Soda Can Harm Your Teeth

Although many people don’t think about sugar content in their drinks, something that they think of even less is the acid inside their drink. Many people don’t even realize they are drinking something acidic. All sodas are acidic if they contain carbonation. Carbonation can give a drink that tasty bite that so many love, but that bite is there for a reason. In fact, you get those bubbles popping because a chemical reaction is taking place in your mouth, turning CO2 (that makes the carbonation) into carbonic acid in your mouth. That acid will eat away at your teeth quite quickly.

What’s worse is that you don’t want to brush your teeth immediately after drinking a soda like you might want to do. The acids that coat your teeth after drinking soda can actually take a small layer of your tooth enamel right off. If you do choose to drink soda, try to choose a sugar-free kind and drink it with a straw. This will remove a lot of that contact that the carbonic acid has with your teeth, which could save your tooth enamel.

Energy Drinks

Energy drinks are generally carbonated, although there are options that come uncarbonated. However, most energy drinks contain much higher amounts of sugar than a regular soda would contain. That sugar mixed with caffeine is what gives you that buzz of energy. However, when your energy is derived from sugar, it makes for a crash soon after.

Energy drinks are also full of stimulants that can have different effects on different people. The World Health Organization warms that children and pregnant women should not drink energy drinks. The effects of the caffeine and various stimulants are not fully known. Not only will sugar and carbonic acid attack your teeth, but energy drinks can also damage your health in the long run. Drink them with caution.

Coffee and Tea

Coffee is another beverage that many turn to for a quick energy boost in the morning. In fact, studies show that about 83% of people in America start their day off with coffee in the morning. Those who do need to monitor their caffeine intake and make sure that they are not receiving dangerous amounts of caffeine. When it comes to your teeth, coffee does not necessarily harm your teeth, but it does stain them. Coffee and tea are both notorious for staining teeth.

Your tooth enamel is naturally unsmooth and full of pits and ridges. When you drink coffee and certain teas, dark pigments from these drinks get stuck in these grooves. Coffee and tea also contain acids and certain substances called tannins that slowly erode your teeth as they stain them. People who drink coffee often, and especially every day, may notice their teeth turn yellow overtime. Different types of wine (such as red and especially white wine) also stain your teeth, so simply looking at a color of a beverage will not tell you if it will stain your teeth. Steer clear of dark berries and drinks with purple, blue and red dyes as these drinks stain your teeth the most.

Additional Drinks

There are countless beverages out there that you could consume that could potentially harm your teeth. You must always watch out for colored beverages as they can stain your teeth. Check the sugar content of your beverages, because the sugar alone can harm your teeth immensely. To avoid drinks that can harm your teeth, you can stick to drinking water and milk. Water is natural and, in the United States, it is fluoridated, meaning that it has fluoride in it that can strengthen your teeth.

Milk (not chocolate milk though) also contains minerals such as calcium and phosphate that can help build your tooth enamel back up. Stick to these types of drinks if you want to have healthy, strong teeth. If your teeth have been damaged or are stained, we have services that can help restore your smile once more such as teeth whitening! To learn more about what drinks do and don’t harm your teeth, call Mountain Aire Dentistry today at (303) 731-7755!