It would amaze you to find out how much of what you do every day is actually working against the health of your teeth. In fact, you may be hurting your teeth every time you stop for a meal. The fact is, if you are enjoying a nice cold soda with your meals, you are actually damaging the defensive layers of your teeth. Soda can have many negative effects on your teeth and can even damage them to the point where they will need to be removed in order to prevent the spread of conditions like tooth decay. Today, Dr. Devang Shah is blogging from Dacula, GA to talk about soda and how it works against your oral health.
Don’t Let Soda Ruin Your Smile
There are two main reasons why soda is so bad for your teeth. These are:
Sugar Content
Part of the reason why soda is so bad for your teeth is because of how much sugar goes into a single can of the stuff. In fact, for every 100ml of soda, there can be as much as 10.6g of sugar. When you drink soda, this sugar is plastered to your teeth where it will sit until you eventually brush them. This sugar is dangerous because it attracts bacteria to your teeth. Using this sugar as fuel, bacteria creates acids, which will proceed to eat away at your teeth in a process that we refer to as tooth decay.
Carbonation
Another reason for why soda is so bad for your teeth is because of the fact that it is carbonated. In order to carbonate soda, a substance called carbonic acid is used. Now, much like the acid produced by the bacteria on your teeth, carbonic acid is also prone to eating away at the defensive layers of your teeth. In fact, every time you drink a soda, your teeth are exposed to a 20 to 30-minute-long “acid attack”. Enough of these acid attacks could completely erode away the layer of enamel that protects your teeth.
Prevent Soda Damage
We understand that you may be unwilling to completely give up soda, even after seeing the damage it can cause. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take that can at least lessen the damage your teeth receive from the sugary treat.
- Drink your soda from a straw in order to prevent your teeth from getting a full blast of sugar and carbonation.
- Drink your soda quickly as taking longer than 30 minutes to finish one soda can result in a second acid attack.
- Drink water directly after finishing your soda so that you can wash away some of the sugar and acid left on your teeth.
Call and Schedule a Consultation in Dacula, GA
If you do happen to lose a tooth to soda, rest assured that we can provide the treatment you need to restore that missing tooth. Using treatments like dental implants and dental bridges, we can provide you with replacement teeth that look good and work well. If you would like to learn more about the effects that soda can have on your teeth or our tooth restoration treatments, contact our office today and schedule a no-obligation consultation with Dr. Devang Shah.
