It’s been a busy few days and all the work’s starting to take its toll on you. You find yourself tired and sleepy, worse still is that you still have a day or so worth of work ahead of you. So, you go down the hall, find the vending machine, look for an energy drink of your flavor of choice, toss in a few bucks and voila, you’ve just found a way to get yourself out of that mid-shift funk.
All is well and good, right? Well, not exactly.
Fact is, even if most people know that drinking energy drinks regularly is bad for the body, it seems that the energy boost isn’t all that worth it, especially since it comes at the expense of your beautiful smile.
How Energy Drinks Are Eating Away At Your Teeth
The main root of the problem is a mix of extremely high sugar content and a citric acid pH that’s usually as low as 2.9 all in one drink.
Now, sugar, as we all know, is bad for the teeth. It’s basically the main cause of cavities and a whole bunch of other dental problems. But, even the extremely high sugar content alone isn’t enough to fully describe just how bad energy drinks are for one’s teeth.
It’s the combination of the sugar content and pH levels that makes energy drinks such a danger to the teeth.
Given that the lower the pH level, the more acidic it is and that an increase in numerical value means the acidity intensifies tenfold, most energy drinks are.
The pH level is what really makes the problem more worrisome, as experts consider anything that has a pH in between 3.0 and 4.0 detrimental to one’s dental health, especially with regular exposure.
With a citric acid pH that’s around 2.9, energy drinks shouldn’t, in any way, be found close to your teeth.
What Does This All Mean?
Anything acidic, when consumed regularly and in high amounts, can cause damage to tooth enamel, which in time can lead to a myriad of dental problems, including tooth sensitivity, tooth discoloration and pain or discomfort in the teeth.
While it is true that a lot of what we consume everyday are somewhat acidic in nature. Like for example, fruits such as oranges and apples has a pH ranging in between 2.8 to 4.0, the teeth are not exposed to as much of it, even if you eat it frequently, as when consuming energy drinks.
With energy drinks, the teeth are exposed to a huge amount of these acidic substances, which leads to it having a similar detrimental effect on teeth as that of carbonated drinks and juices.
Given the negative light carbonated drinks and juices have been put on recently in regards to dental, as well as overall health, it would be wise to limit one’s consumption of energy, as well as sports drinks. And experts actually agree to this.
In addition to minimizing the consumption of sports and energy drinks, plenty of dental professionals recommend chewing sugar-free gum or rinsing their mouth with water after consuming such drinks to promote salivary flow and help the acidity levels of the mouth return to normal.
Brushing one’s teeth immediately after consuming such beverages is not recommended as well. Instead, dentists recommend waiting for an hour to avoid spreading the acid onto the tooth surfaces.
While totally avoiding energy drinks is near-impossible, considering the busy world we live in and how we need the occasional energy boost, it’s important to remember that the dangers of drinking such beverages and what to do after consuming.
For more information regarding your oral health, contact Dr. Larry Lieberman, DDS at 727-785-8017 or visit www.dentist-lieberman.com.
Dr. Larry Lieberman, DDS accepts patients from Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and surrounding areas.