Q: I like drinking soda a lot. Is diet soda safer for my teeth to drink than regular soda?
A: Sipping on cola is like bathing your mouth in corrosive acid. Soda eats up and dissolves the tooth’s enamel. Battery acid, for example, has a pH of 1.0; water is 7.0; sugar–sweetened soda is 2.5; and diet soda is 3.2. Acidity increases as the pH value decreases. The acidity can dissolve the mineral content of the enamel, making the teeth weaker, more sensitive, and more susceptible to decay. Soda’s acidity makes it even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy. By eroding the enamel, soda speeds up the decay process, making it easier for bacteria to enter the teeth.
Savoring soda slowly may damage teeth more than gulping it down. As soon as you take a sip, soda acidifies the saliva, which the body then works to neutralize. If you gulp the whole can, the saliva will return to normal in 20 minutes. But people don’t typically drink soda that way. They take sips over an hour or so, and the mouth stays acidic the entire time. This is particularly an issue for people who drink several sodas a day, because they never give their saliva a chance to neutralize.
Studies confirm that adults who drink three or more sodas a day have up to 62 percent more decayed, missing, and filled teeth than those who drink less. Research revealed that diet drinks were nearly as acidic as regular and can erode tooth enamel and lead to tooth decay. For people who drink artificially sweetened beverages, it is healthier and safer to switch to the healthiest diet drink of all; water.
For more information call or visit Dr. Nilda M. Woolard at 661-259-7702 and 23369 Lyons Avenue, Valencia.