Do Energy Drinks Stain Teeth?

Categories: Open, Oral Hygiene

energy drinks

Have you ever wondered if Energy Drinks stain teeth?  A recent article published in the DailyMail, shows a picture of a tooth that has been submerged in an energy drink for 2 weeks.  We were shocked at the result. The tooth wasn’t necessarily stained, however it was crumbling from the acidity and sugar content.  What was even more surprising, was that when compared to soda, the tooth in the energy drink was damaged significantly more than the tooth in soda!

At first glance, we weren’t surprised that the energy drink didn’t stain the tooth.  Usually energy drinks are clear liquids with few staining pigments.  But the acidity level takes the tooth damage to a whole another level.  The high acidity and high levels of sugar in the energy drink are a perfect disaster for tooth damage.

The article refers to a book, Rust: The Longest War by Jonathan Waldman, which claims that one in seven new energy drinks are too corrosive to put in aluminium cans.  Too corrosive?  And we put this in our bodies?  Soda has gotten a lot of attention in the news and media, but we often overlook the potential risk of harm from energy drinks.

As a dentist and oral health advocate, we screen each and every patient for diet habits and risk factors.  We have seen an increase in energy drink consumption and therefore have added it our list of high risk drinks. While it is common for dental professionals to realize energy drinks are damaging to teeth, we have found patients commonly do not associate cavities with energy or sports drinks.  Part of our prevention through education program is to educate patients on the risk of consumption of drinks with high sugar levels and damaging effects of frequently of sipping

We did a little research online and found that one of the most common energy drinks has a pH of 3.3, while battery acid is a 1 on the pH scale.  We recommend patients stick to levels around 6-7, which includes water, milk, and unsweetened tea.

If you have a concern about your cavity risk factor, we encourage you to speak with a dentist.

 

Want to read the article cited and see the level of severe destruction?  Click here to see photos and read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4287984/Pictures-damage-soft-drinks-teeth.html

 

Dr. Kelly Dove

@Nixa Smiles “Where we are right under your nose”