Is diet soda bad for your teeth? The short and simple answer is yes. Though diet sodas may not contain sugar, they often cause the same dental erosion. The effects can lead to tooth sensitivity, decay, and other oral health issues. If you want to make sure about this, you can ask your dentist. In fact, both regular and diet sodas can wear away prematurely the enamel on your teeth. Keep reading to know more about the side effects of soda on your teeth and some helpful tips to prevent the damage.
Why is Soda Bad For Your Teeth?
Drinking a sugary drink is most commonly connected to type 2 diabetes, obesity, and weight gain. However, sodas can likewise affect your smile, possibly leading to tooth decay and cavities.
The sugar in a soda interacts with bacteria in your mouth, creating acid. In fact, both regular and sugar-free sodas contain their own acids that can attack your teeth as well. With each drink of soda, you are beginning a negative response for around 20 minutes. Hence your teeth are under constant attack, especially if you drink sodas all day.
In any case, if you want to ensure the health of your teeth, you can go to this link here. Whether you are a heavy soda drinker or not, seeing a dentist is the best method to prevent any dental damages.
The Two Main Dental Impacts Of Drinking Soda
There are two significant effects of soda on your teeth. These are:
Enamel Erosion
Erosion starts when the acids in sugary drinks meet the enamel, the outermost defensive layer on your teeth. Their impact is to lessen the surface hardness of the tooth enamel. As a matter of fact, tooth erosion can also happen when drinking:
- fruit juices
- sports drinks
- energy drinks
- drinks that contain sugar, carbonic acid, phosphoric acid, and citric acid
Cavities
Soft drinks can likewise affect the next layer of the tooth, called dentin. In fact, it can even damage the composite fillings. This side effect can cause cavities. Cavities, also known as tooth decay or caries, develop over time in individuals who sip sodas regularly. You can visit a dental provider like MLD Burwood to prevent the damage that can happen to your teeth.
Helpful Tips to Reduce the Damage of Soda on Your Teeth
Drinking regular sodas or diet sodas can cause various dental damages. To reduce the side effects, follow these simple tips:
Cut Down
This is the most simple approach to protecting your teeth. You can try switching one daily soda with a glass of water, coffee, or tea. If you need the carbonation, sparkling water will do. However, carbonated 
beverages and caffeinated beverages are still high in acid that can harm your dental enamel. Drinking it will basically assist you with reducing sugar consumption.
Drink Soda With a Meal
Another method to lessen the damage of soda to your teeth is to drink it with a meal. Drinking it with a meal empowers saliva production, incompletely neutralizes the acid. Also, this can encourage you to drink the soda more quickly, decreasing the amount of time the acid stays in your mouth.
Avoid Thinking Diet Soda Will Save You
You may drink diet soda to control your weight or reduce your sugar intake. However, sugar-free drinks that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners are bad for your teeth. These diet drinks may not have harmful sugar. Yet, it is still highly acidic, which makes your teeth more vulnerable to dental erosion and cavities.
Kick the Cola
Cola is one of the most acidic kinds of soda which is the worst for your teeth. So, change colas to less acidic soft drinks to minimize the damage, such as root beer, sprite, mountain dew, sierra mist, and welch’s grape soda. In any case, these are all high in sugar content, but their pH levels will not hurt your teeth.
Wash Your Mouth With Water Afterward
Drinking water after every soda is another best method to reduce the damage of soda on your teeth. In fact, this will help wash away any lingering sugars and acids in the mouth and prevent them from attacking your teeth.
Other Ways To Prevent The Damage
- Drink with some restraint and avoid having more than one soda each day.
- Drink quickly to reduce the amount of time the sugars and acids stay in your mouth. This is because the longer it takes to drink a soda, the more time it has to wreak havoc on your oral health.
- Use a straw to help keep the harmful acids and sugars away from your teeth.
- Wait for 30 to 60 minutes before you brush because brushing immediately after a soda can do more harm than good.
- Avoid soft drinks before sleep time. Not exclusively will the sugar probably keep you up, yet the sugar and acid will have most of the night to attack your teeth.
- Get regular dental appointments. This will help detect oral issues before they worsen.
In conclusion, regular and diet soda are both not ideal for your teeth. In fact, the best solution is to stop drinking any sodas. However, many of us just cannot completely get rid of the habit. Fortunately, these helpful tips can help lessen the risk of damaging your teeth. Book an appointment at your local clinic so you can get helpful advice and guidance as to how you can take better care of your smile.
References:
Cavities/tooth decay.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cavities/symptoms-causes/syc-20352892
Tooth Erosion Causes.
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Tooth-Erosion-Causes.aspx
Oral Health Tips.
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/adult-oral-health/tips.html
