In recent years I’ve been diagnosing an increasing number of teens, pre-teens, and young adults with severe cavities and decay. People of this age group are typically at low risk for the level of decay that I and many other dentists are finding. So what is the root cause?
Sodas and other sugary acidic drinks.
One dentist put it this way, “Sweetened soda is to teeth as cigarettes are to lungs.”
Trendy drinks are causing a generation of young people to experience decay and loss of tooth enamel unprecedented in modern times.
Overconsumption of sugar-laden, acidic drinks, such as boxed juice, sport drinks and soft drinks, is reversing more than 50 years of public health gains realized through preventive measures like fluoridated water and dental sealants.
From their early years into young adulthood, children are drinking increasing quantities of these sugary, acidic drinks from morning until night. They consume fruit juice at breakfast, soda at lunch and sport drinks or flavored sweet tea or coffee after school.
How Soda Generates Cavities
- Sugar in pop combines with bacteria in your mouth to form acid.
- Diet or “sugar-free” pop contains its own acid.
- Acid in soft drinks, whether they contain sugar or not, is the primary cause of weakening tooth enamel.
- The acid attacks your teeth. Each acid attack lasts about 20 minutes.
- The acid attack starts over again with every sip.
- Ongoing acid attacks weaken your tooth enamel.
- Bacteria in your mouth cause cavities when tooth enamel is damaged.
- If you have a receding gum line, acid does more damage below the gum line than above it. This is particularly a concern for adults.
Sugar and Acidity or pH of common drinks
The pH scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution with pure water in the middle at neutral pH 7. The lower the pH, the stronger the acid.
Something to keep in mind: One step in pH increases acidity or alkalinity by a factor of 10. For example, Barq’s Root Beer has a pH of 4 while Diet Pepsi has a pH of 3. This tells us that Diet Pepsi is 10 times more acidic than Barq’s Root Beer and 10,000 times more acidic than water (pH 7).
Here are some common drinks and their measured pH according to a study conducted at the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Dentistry.
| Drink or Substance (12 oz. serving) | Acid pH | Tsp. Sugar |
| Water | 7.0 (neutral) | 0 |
| Milk | 6.7 | 1 |
| Barq’s Root Beer | 4 | 11 |
| Minute Maid® Orange Juice | 3.8 | 9 |
| Propel® Fitness Water | 3.4 | 1 |
| Red Bull® Energy Drink | 3.3 | 10 |
| Sprite® | 3.3 | 10 |
| Mountain Dew | 3.3 | 12 |
| Diet Coke | 3.1 | 0 |
| Sierra Mist | 3.1 | 10 |
| Full Throttle Energy Drink | 3 | 11 |
| Diet Pepsi | 3 | 0 |
| Gatorade® | 2.9 | 5 |
| Sunkist® Orange Soda | 2.9 | 13 |
| Dr. Pepper | 2.9 | 10 |
| Vault™ Energy Soda | 2.9 | 12 |
| Mountain Dew AMP1 | 2.8 | 11 |
| SoBe Energy Citrus | 2.6 | 12 |
| Minute Maid® Lemonade | 2.6 | 10 |
| Pepsi | 2.5 | 11 |
| Diet Schweppes Tonic Water | 2.5 | 0 |
| Coca-Cola Classic2 | 2.4 | 10 |
| Battery Acid3 | 1 | 0 |
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Footnotes:
1 Now called AMP Energy.
2 In some geographical areas of the U.S. and Canada known simply as “Coca-Cola.”
3 Battery Acid is NOT a drink.
Test by Dr. John Ruby, University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Dentistry, 2007
Minnesota Dental Association: Sip All Day, Get Decay.
Drinks Destroy Teeth
Now I don’t expect people to totally give up these drinks forever, but they should be enjoyed as an occasional treat not a daily staple. And never with a meal, no matter what the advertisers may try to tell you.