Top 10 Worst Drinks For Your Teeth

A three-year CDC study of 16,000 US residents showed 28% of children aged between 2-5 have some form of tooth decay.¹

In the UK, tooth decay is the "third most common reason for children to be admitted to [the] hospital."²

These statistics are obviously disturbing and are a window through which we can view a social norm that has gone a little out of control. Lots of factors need to be taken into account, but a few things are obvious: we drink too much pop, too often; we don't brush as often as we should; and we put our kids to bed with bottles of milk, juice, or soda that overnight creates the perfect environment for decay.

Back in the 1950s (I've heard), soft drinks were a lot smaller than they are today. Going to get a Coke was seen as a special event, and if you've ever seen how small those glass bottles were, you'll know what I'm getting at here.

At the beginning of its mainstream popularity, we'd drink a 6.5 ounce soft drink and be thrilled to death with the experience. Now the standard or "average" size soft drink is 24 ounces--over 3 times larger--and we drink them much more often. Yet this is not the upper limit in size.

Soft drinks in the US have gotten so ridiculously huge that The Onion published a mock news story claiming Coke's newest size was 30 liters (here). Funny as this may seem, it's unfortunate that we need to joke about this because the results of over-consumption are often devastating.

While knowledge of oral hygiene and proper preventive measures has greatly improved since the 1950s, the prominence and availability of candy, pop, and junk food has skyrocketed since then. More than ever, it's important to learn about the foods and drinks that can harm our teeth and bodies, and learn to promote better eating and oral hygiene habits.

Three ingredients needed for tooth decay to begin:

• Oral bacteria
• Sugar
• Acid

All three of these ingredients need to be present for tooth decay to begin. Oral bacteria (Strep. mutans ) are present in the mouth naturally. Food, especially carbohydrates, breaks down into sugar. Bread starts to break down in the mouth right away, giving off a sweet taste, for example. Acid comes in the form of soft drinks, citric acid, etc.

What happens when all these ingredients combine? Oral bacteria consume sugar and expel lactic acid into the oral cavity. This lactic acid leaches calcium phosphate crystals from the teeth, causing soft spots (white spot lesions ) in the protective enamel coating of the teeth.

At this point, the teeth can either continue to be leached of calcium phosphate crystals, or else can begin to remineralize and reverse the decay process. Toothpastes (OTC or prescription) help remineralize teeth, as do some mouth rinses like ACT Restoring Mouthwash. Saliva naturally restores oral pH and helps remineralize the teeth, but be aware that saliva flow decreases at night and when taking certain medications. Reversing the decay process only works in the initial stages of decay before an actual cavity forms. This is relatively new information in the dental field, so please inform yourself about cavities, here.

To make this all a little more complex, what research has found is that each time we sip a sugary drink, there is an "acid attack" on our teeth for 16-20 minutes. Each new sip we take, the clock starts over. So if it takes me an hour to finish a can of Coke, my teeth have been sloshing around in acid for an hour and 20 minutes.

Obviously, it's better to gulp the drink down and be done with it. Now that we know that both sugar and acid affect our likelihood of developing cavities, let's look at a rundown of the worst drinks for your teeth.

• Swishing your mouth out with water after drinking these beverages can help decrease the amount of acid contacting the teeth

• Chewing sugar-free gum or anything with xylitol will also help minimize the damage

• Drink sugary and acidic beverages with meals, and never before bedtime unless you plan to brush your teeth before sleeping

• Using a straw also helps decrease contact of these drinks with the teeth

• Other drinks that contribute to tooth decay: Milk, wine, beer, tea, coffee, and fruit juices

1 Prevalence Of Tooth Decay

2 The Telegraph (UK)

3 The Merck Manual

4 Missouri Dentistry

5 Image Credit: Horiavarlan

6 Sugar, Acid, and Teeth Blog

7 CDC Study of 16,000 Americans

8 Five Worst Enemies Of Your Teeth

9 The Onion: New 30-liter Sized Coke

10 University Of Michigan School Of Dentistry

11 Minnesota Dental Association (sugar / acid chart)

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