As sports and energy drinks grow in popularity, new studies in the USA have found some concerns regarding their effect on dental health. A recent study has found that these drinks can cause irreversible damage to teeth, which is cause for concern for researchers due to the popularity of the drinks amongst adolescents and young people.
Photo by Dawn Ashley
Concerns
Researchers found that energy and sports drinks have high acidity levels which can erode the enamel – a shiny, protective layer on the teeth. Poonam Jain, the lead author of the study, says that a number of young adults regularly consume these high-sugar drinks as they’re advertised as being able to improve their energy levels and/or sports performance, and aren’t aware of the damage that is being done to their teeth. In fact, most patients treated due to this were actually shocked to learn that they were essentially dousing their teeth in acid.
Study and Results
By examining the acidity levels in thirteen sports drinks and nine energy drinks, researchers found that acidity levels do vary depending on the brand of the drink and different flavours of the same brand. Enamel samples from human teeth were soaked in each drink for fifteen minutes and then immersed in artificial saliva in order to test the effect of the level of acidity in each drink. This was repeated four times per day over a period of five days.
After five days of being exposed to sports or energy drinks, research found that damage to tooth enamel was evident although energy drinks did show a significantly greater level of damage to teeth than did sports drinks. In fact, researchers discovered that between sports and energy drinks, energy drinks caused double the amount of damage to teeth.
Plan of Action
With the amount of teens and young adults regularly consuming sports and energy drinks, it’s essential that both young people and parents are educated effectively on the damage that these beverages can have on teeth. Damage of the tooth enamel is irreversible, and teeth are more prone to decay, cavities and sensitivity without the protection that enamel provides. Many teens don’t realise that the consumption of something seemingly harmless such as an energy or sports drink can have such an adverse effect on their teeth or even consider it as the cause if they encounter dental problems.
Almost every dentist Melbourne CBD practice recommends minimal consumption of sports and energy drinks in order to combat this issue, and following consumption of the drinks, chew sugar-free gum or rinse the mouth thoroughly with water in order to minimise the effects of the acidity by increasing saliva flow. Brushing the teeth after consuming energy or sports drinks is not recommended and should be postponed for at least an hour after consumption as it causes acid to be spread onto the tooth surfaces increasing the erosive action.
Do you regularly consume sports and/or energy drinks? Was you aware of this issue? Now that you know, do you feel any differently about consuming the beverages? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
