As tempting and addictive soda is did you ever know what it does to your teeth? Did you know soda contains sugar too? Lots and lots and lots of sugar...
Celebrity dentist- Dr. Kshama Chandan and founder of House of Tooth in Mumbai, explains the impact of sugar and soda on your teeth.
“Other than brushing your teeth or flossing every day, what you eat also plays a significant role on your oral health. Soda’s and sugar are extremely bad for your teeth. Sugary drinks, such as fruit juices and sodas, top this list,” says Dr Chandani adding that even though they are the go-to drinks for children and adults all the time, they are not the best choice. “They invite dental problems including tooth decay, gum disease, sensitivity and even bad breath,” she adds.
A food for cavities
When you have a soda, the sugar from the soda meets the bacteria present in your mouth and forms acid. This acid attacks your teeth and the rest is history. The soda or any other type of drink that contains sugar has two types of effects on teeth- cavities and erosion.
Tooth decay
Soda/Soft drinks attack the dentin (the layer that lies beneath the tooth’s outer layer). This attack damages your tooth enamel, which creates cavities. Though dental caries develop over time, people who drink sodas/ soft drinks regularly are at high risk of tooth decay.
Sensitivity and tooth pain
And Erosion occurs when the acids in soft drinks attack the tooth enamel, which is the outermost protecting layer on teeth. Erosion reduces the surface hardness of the enamel, and dentin is exposed which causes lots of teeth sensitivity and tooth pain.
Your Mouth Is a Battleground
There are a plethora of a variety of bacteria residing in it. Some are useful for your dental health, and some are harmful. Whenever you eat anything sweet or drink a soda or a cold drink, these things contain sugar. This sugar then meets the bacteria of your mouth and produce acid. These acids remove minerals from the tooth enamel, which is the shiny, protective, outer layer of your tooth. This process is called Demineralisation.
The story doesn’t end there...
There is always a good news after a bad one and that is that your saliva helps to continuously undo this damage in a natural process called Remineralisation.
The minerals in your saliva, help the enamel repair itself by replacing minerals lost during the ‘acid attack’ and thus strengthens your teeth. The saliva also helps to maintain a neutral PH of the oral cavity.
But if these acid attacks continue then the Bacteria will win and Saliva will lose the battle.
There will be loss of all the minerals from the enamel surface which will over time weaken the enamel surface and eventually destroy it forming a cavity.
How to decrease the effects of sugar on your teeth
1. Try to limit sugar consumption as much as possible such as sodas, fruit juices, chocolates, cakes etc.
2. Don’t brush right after drinking soda. Simply because the constant friction against the recently acid- attacked teeth can do more harm than good. Wait about an hour before brushing.
3. After eating anything sweet always drink water to rinse their mouth thoroughly.
4. Try having sugary drinks, sodas with a straw so that there is minimum contact with teeth.
5. A regular visit to the dentist is always important in maintaining good oral health, preventing tooth decay and having a perfect set of pearly whites.
6. And if you are a soda addict a visit to the dentist must be on your to-do list today!
