Sodas have been called “liquid candy” and we all know why: SUGAR. That’s why we like soda, right? Well, those little sugar bugs in your mouth like soda, too. While the bacteria feasts on the sugars, the saliva in our mouths becomes more acidic. It’s the acid that corrodes teeth and leads to cavities. Whether someone drinks a sip of soda or the whole bottle, their mouth will suffer from its acidic affect for about twenty minutes after they finish. Imagine if you were to sip a soda slowly over an hour. With every sip, the twenty minutes of acidic saliva starts all over again. In the end, your mouth will have been exposed to the corrosive effects for that whole hour you were drinking it PLUS twenty minutes afterward.
All the soda lovers reading this might now be wondering if they should switch to a “diet” version of their favorite drink, one that contains a sugar substitute. That seems very logical. It would eliminate the sugar, thus cutting off the bacteria from their feast, so that would stop the acid problem . . . But wait! Even without sugar a soda is acidic. As long as there is acid, whether it came from bacteria or elsewhere, your enamel is in danger. Sadly, no matter how you look at it, drinking soda isn’t good for those pearly whites!
If you just can’t give up soda, try to rearrange your drinking habits to make it easier on your teeth. First, lower the amount you drink during the week and replace those other times with a safer drink (water or milk is best!). When you do have a soda, enjoy it alongside a meal. Take some delightful gulps instead of sipping and then follow it up with a refreshing glass of water to wash some of the sugar and acid away. Don’t forget to brush twice a day!
Special thanks to our blog writer, Susan Akers!
