We love Soda! I love soda.
Sometimes we just need that sweet cold bubbly drink to enlighten the day.
However, it comes at cost. Not only is it made of a lot of sugar and chemicals, it is ACIDIC!
Everyone has harmful bacteria that lives in our mouth that eats sugar.
These bacteria use sugar as energy and produce acid as its byproduct.
When the mouth becomes acidic enough, it weakens and damages the teeth. Making the teeth become more vulnerable to cavities.
The pH scale goes from 1 to 14, 1 being the most acidic, 14 being the most basic, and 7 being neutral (like most water). A pH of 5.5 is an important pH level for teeth as the teeth begin to dissolve or demineralize at a pH in the mouth below 5.5.
Then what is the pH of soda?
Remember below 5.5, teeth begin to dissolve and weaken.
- Coke - 2.52
- Ginger Ale - 2.8
- San Pellegrino - 5.6 (still more acidic than regular water)
What are other options?
- Water - neural, if it contains fluoride, which I call tooth vitamin, it can strengthen teeth.
- Milk - not only is it more basic than soda, it has calcium that helps teeth stay strong.
If you find you can’t resist yourself and need that refreshness from soda, there still are some things you can do to help protect your teeth.
- Drink, don’t sip. Sipping gives the bacteria more time to eat the sugar and to create cavities. Drink quickly to give your body time to wash away. Avoid sipping on soda or sugary beverage over a longer amount of time. I know some of you do because I did a lot during college.
- Use a straw! Avoid that soda touching your teeth.
- Drink water after drinking sugary food and drink. Let water wash away those bad stuff.
- Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride protects teeth and has reduced the number of cavities across the nation. Make sure your toothpaste has fluoride. You can purchase water with fluoride.
- Brush and clean between your teeth regularly. Brush your teeth twice a day and clean between your teeth once a day. Now, don’t brush right away after you had sugary, acidic food. Give yourself 30 minutes between eating and brushing to give time for teeth to neutralize. Don’t smear all that sugar around your teeth.
- Of course, visit your dentist regularly. Catching cavities early is the key. Prevention is the key. I can help you with that.
Call us at 520-886-2822 to set up your appointment. We are here for you.
