20/11/2023
How Soft Drinks Affect Your Dental Health:
To fight the thirst and heat in the current summer season here, most Aussies will turn to water and carbonated drinks. However, unlike water, soft drinks may have some adverse effects on your dental health, including cavities and tooth decay. Also, consuming high-sugar carbonated drinks is even linked to weight gain, diabetes, and obesity.
Every time you drink a can or bottle of soda, its sugars interact with your mouth’s bacteria to create an acid. It is that acid that will then attack your teeth. Even the sugar-free soft drinks will have their acids that will harm your teeth too.
With every sip of your soda, you initiate a damaging tooth reaction. This reaction will typically last for around 20 minutes. It means that when you are drinking soda all day, then your dental health is always under a continuous attack.
Here are the two main ways that soft drinks affect your dental health, and why it might be helpful to visit a dentist.
Erosion
The initial effect of the acid in soda is to erode the outermost layer of your teeth, the enamel. It reduces the protective surface hardness and durability of the enamel. Even though fruit juices and sports drinks will also damage the tooth enamel, that damage stops there and doesn’t proceed further.
Cavities
Besides damaging the enamel, soft drinks also negatively impact the dentin layer of the teeth. When your enamel is damaged, it can invite tooth cavities. These cavities will gradually develop with time, especially in those who regularly drink soda. If you factor in bad dental hygiene, then lots of teeth damage will occur
How to Avoid Teeth Damage when Drinking Soda:
The clear solution is to avoid drinking soda. There are a couple of things that can lessen the potential of teeth damage, including:
1.Consider limiting your soft drink intake to only one glass per day
2.Always drink soft drinks with a straw
3.Do not brush immediately after having soda
4.Use water for quickly rinsing your mouth to wash away any harmful by-products
5.Avoid taking soda before bedtime
6.Get a regular dental cleaning service at a dental clinic
Staying hydrated is essential to general health. Some beverages will do this hydration task better than others. Many soft drinks are full of caffeine and sugar, which heighten dehydration.
Also, the lack of enough water is a massive trigger for fatigue during the day. So, the next time you are feeling tired, whether at school or work, avoid reaching for those carbonated drinks, but drink water instead. It is fantastic for your health and will not hurt your teeth as compared to soft drinks and caffeinated beverages.
