SPORTS DRINKS AND TOOTH DECAY

There was a recent study released int the journal for the Academy of General Dentistry, showing that the acidity of the sports and energy drinks can cause irreversible tooth erosion among American adolescents. At office in the Montclair area we strive to provide the information to allow your teeth to last a lifetime.

“Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are ‘better’ for them than soda,” says Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH, lead author of the study. “Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid.” “This study completely disproves that, because they erode or thin out the enamel of the teeth, leaving them more susceptible to decay and sensitivity.According to the dentistry academy, an estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of U.S. teenagers consume energy drinks and as many as 62 percent consume at least one sports drink per day.

People “don’t realize that something as seemingly harmless as a sports or energy drink can do a lot of damage to their teeth,” Jennifer Bone, a spokeswoman for the academy, said in the news release.

She advised patients to minimize their consumption of sports and energy drinks, and also suggested that they chew sugar-free gum, especialy the xylitol vartiety, or rinse their month with water after consuming the drinks.

“Both tactics increase saliva flow, which naturally helps to return the acidity levels in the mouth to normal,” she explained.

After consuming sports or energy drinks, patients should wait at least an hour before they brush their teeth. Otherwise, they will spread acid onto the tooth surfaces and increase the erosive action, Bone said.