You’ve probably heard, or been told by your dentist, that sugary drinks are bad for your teeth. Well, it’s true! This post is a little reminder of the why and how behind this unfortunate reality.
Yes, too much sugar is bad. Regarding your overall health, it can cause obesity and diabetes. These are reasons enough to limit your daily sugar intake, and sugary drinks are specifically bad for your teeth. Here is why.
Drinks like sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, and even fruit juices are loaded in sugar. When you drink these beverages, you bathe your teeth with this sugary liquid. Bacteria that naturally occur in your mouth then use the sugar, and they produce acid as a byproduct. This bacterial acid weakens and eats away the protective enamel on your teeth until you eventually get a cavity. Many soft drinks are also very acidic, combining with this process to weaken tooth enamel even faster. This process initially happens with no pain or sensitivity, so it can go on for quite a while without you even knowing.
So now that we’ve been over the bad news, lets get to what you can do to prevent this from happening to you. It’s one of those things that is ridiculously easy to put down on paper, but sometimes hard to do!
- Drink less sugary drinks……sodas, sweet tea (sorry my Southern brethren, the official drink of the South is bad for you too), fruit juices, sports drinks, etc.
- Cut back if you don’t quit cold turkey. Drinking one soda per day is better than drinking multiple!
- Drink sugary drinks fast. The longer these beverages are in contact with your teeth, the more damage they can do. Also consider using a straw. There is a saying, “Sip all day, get decay”.
- Replace the bad with the good. Actually, we recommend the best drink, water. There are so many benefits of drinking water that we could write another blog post on that. Dentally, water can strengthen your teeth if your community water contains fluoride. It also washes your teeth off without leaving a sugary residue. Water keeps you hydrated and fights dry mouth, another risk factor for dental decay.
Staying aware of simple things like this can make a real difference in the health of your teeth. And of course, don’t forget to brush twice a day, floss daily, and visit your dentist on a regular basis to ensure your optimum oral health.