Why Sugar-Free Drinks Are Still Unsafe for Teeth

Sugar-Free Drinks Are Still Unsafe for Teeth

Although they often contain no sugar, diet sodas usually cause about the same amount of dental erosion as regular sodas.

BYE-BYE DIET SODA

By now, every one has heard of the mind-blowing fact a can of Coca Cola contains the equivalent of 10 cubes of sugar! That's why so many of us righteously drink diet sodas or other non-sugar beverages to play it safe and keep our teeth free from decay. Well, it appears we are not as safe as we thought. Now we are being told to avoid all diet sodas and other sugar-free drinks. How can that be? Our doctors explain that recent studies show that sugar is not the only bad ingredient in soft drinks. An equally Big Culprit--in all drinks--is the acid used to enhance flavor. Sometimes called "phosphoric acid," this nasty additive does a job on our white teeth--eating away our precious outer-most layer called the enamel.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

That means we drink flavored water, Diet Coke, Diet Snapple, Fresca--you name it--at our dental peril. Our teeth are at risk of losing their pearlescent, white, glowing look. A thinner enamel begins to make teeth look yellowed, thinner, duller. Yuk. Who wants that? Pass the water....