Soda, soda water, soda pop, Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sprite, Root Beer and now MONSTER, Red Bull, Jolt, Amp and many more. We have a lot of choices out there, we all know that they are not the best for us, and we all know that we should drink water and floss more and exercise three times a week. We ALL know this. But, lets examine why these drinks are a hazard to our lifestyle.
First a very brief history, in 1767 Dr. Joseph Priestly created the first drinkable carbonated water, oddly enough he also discovered laughing gas. In 1810 John Matthews patented an apparatus for carbonat- ing water, in essence discovering soda. Soda did not catch on until about 1830, soon drugstore soda foun- tains were as American as apple pie and baseball.
Now we have over 450 types of soda and an ever expanding number of energy drinks. Red Bull is an Austrian invention that began from a Thai drink, supposedly used by rickshaw drivers. It contains 80 mg of caffeine as well as taurine and a lot of sugar. Taurine is an amino acid, first discovered in bulls, hence red bull, and in large doses causes increased contraction of the heart as well as influences the nervous system.
The important question is, what do all those ingredients do to your body and more to the point, your teeth. The big problem with the bodily effects is....we don’t really know. Little is known about some of the ingredients that are in energy drinks and less is known about the combined effects of such large amounts. We know that caffeine dehydrates the body, thus nullifying its use as sports drinks. It is also known that the stimulant effect masks your perception of the effects of alcohol and can lead to dangerous levels of alcohol in the blood.
Both soda and energy drinks have a very low pH, and they contain a lot of acid. Your body works hard to maintain a neu- tral (7) pH by buffering acid. When you drink these beverages the acids first at- tack your teeth. Anything below a pH of
5.5 will cause teeth to dissolve, most sodas have a pH around 1-2. Your saliva has chemicals that neutralize the acid, but it takes about 5 to 10 minutes in a clean healthy mouth. So, if you SIP all day long you never give your teeth a chance to repair the damage, they just dissolve all day.
All that acid you drink also gets into your system through your gut and acidifies your blood and tissues. This makes it even more difficult for your mouth to buffer acid from the soda you drink, leading to more tooth damage. In addition, you can weaken your skeleton by acidifying your blood and tissues and drawing out the minerals in your bones. Recent studies suggest that girls who drink soda are more prone to broken bones and at a greater risk for osteo- porosis later in life.
The last major ingredient, most associated with the dentist, is sugar. Soda’s contain about 45 grams of sugar in each can. If you drink one soda a day that equals 35 pounds of sugar a year. Energy drinks contain as high as 90 grams per can, or 70 pounds of sugar a year. If you think that sugar free is ok, remember that bacteria can still process the sugar substitutes and cause cavities. (and you still have the acids to deal with.)
So what do the bacteria do with the sugar to cause cavi- ties? They make acid. That's right a double dose of acid! When bacteria eat sugar they produce two types of super- glue to stick to your teeth: a plethora of toxins and acid as a metabolic by-product, (or for the layperson their pee). That is right, bacteria eat sugar and pee acid. If that does- n’t motivate you to brush and floss, I don’t know what will.
If you are drinking a lot of soda, or worse sipping soda all day long, the answer is clear, literally it is clear...water. Your system was made to run on water and that should be the main stay of your diet. It is ok to have a soda for lunch or one at dinner but it should be a limited amount and it should be drank within 10 minutes of starting.
Don’t go brushing your teeth right after drinking soda either. The minerals that make up your enamel become weakened by the acid, which makes them easier to brush off while scrubbing your teeth. As a result, your teeth can actually become thinner and more prone to decay. It is better to rinse your mouth with water and wait about a half an hour before brushing to give your teeth time to re-mineralize. Drinking through a straw bypasses the teeth but your system is still impacted.
Cavities from soda and energy drinks are very damaging. The soda eats away at all sides of the teeth, weakening all the enamel at once, so fixing it means more invasive treatment. Existing fillings and crowns are also weakened and don’t last as long. Soda drinking at the extreme can even affect the mouth the same way methamphetamine can. Google "meth mouth" pictures for a clue on how bad that is. The old adage holds true, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!"
If you have any questions or believe that your teeth may have been damaged from your soda habit come in today! We can help you develop healthy habits and repair the damage created by these acidic, sugary beverages. Early intervention is the key to long term success.