Do you wake up and crave a diet cola? Maybe you have to drink a cola with each meal. Soft drinks are a regular part of fast food meal deal, also found at nearly any event you attend, even in schools. However, you may be concerned about your soft drink habit and what it is doing to your teeth.
According to many studies done, soft drinks are one of the leading causes of tooth decay today. The acid, sugar and carbonation in soft drinks not only weaken your teeth’s enamel but they can create an environment where bacteria can thrive.
Even sugar-free drinks are hard on your teeth because they still contain acid and carbonation.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Teeth
There are a number of things you can do to protect your teeth. While it probably isn’t realistic to expect you to give up soft drinks forever, start by limiting how many you consume. Save soft drinks for special occasions and switch to water for your oral health.
- Use a straw when drinking soda. This limits exposure to teeth.
- Avoid soft drinks before bed.
- Ask your dentist for a fluoride rinse, which can help protect teeth from these substances.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste and mouth rinse for additional protection.
Why Timing is Everything
The Wisconsin Dental Association states that the sugar in soda works with the bacteria in your mouth and forms an acid which negatively impacts your teeth. Diet soda has a different type of acid an also attacks your teeth.
What happens when you drink soda all day long is that with each sip the acids form and attack your teeth for about 20 minutes. However, every time you take another sip, you restart this 20-minute process.
If you are drinking several sodas a day, you may be setting up a scenario where acid is attacking your teeth most of the day. Instead of sipping on sodas all day long, try to limit yourself to a few sodas a week.
By reducing your soda consumption, you’ll improve your oral health. You’ll also stay more hydrated if you replace the sodas with water.