Sugar-free drinks are bad news for teeth
Scientists at the University of Melbourne’s Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre have warned about the damage sugar–free drinks can do to tooth enamel. Researchers in the Centre tested 23 different types of drink, including soft drinks and sports drinks, and found drinks that contain acidic additives and with low pH levels cause measurable damage to dental enamel, even if the drink is sugar–free. “Many people are not aware that while reducing your sugar intake does reduce your risk of dental decay, the chemical mix of acids in some foods and drinks can cause the equally damaging condition of dental erosion,” Melbourne Laureate Professor Eric Reynolds, CEO of the Oral Health CRC, said.
- The majority of soft drinks and sports drinks caused softening of dental enamel by 30%–50%.
- Both sugar–containing and sugar–free soft drinks (including flavoured mineral waters) produced measurable loss of the tooth surface, with no significant difference between the two groups of drinks.
- Of 8 sports drinks tested, all but 2 (those with higher calcium content) were found to cause loss of dental enamel.
