Sweet Summertime

Here we are in August, probably the hottest time of the summer, and one of the easiest ways to stay cool is to drink a refreshing, cold beverage. As I sit at my desk here at my dental office in Darien, the town sidewalk sales are in progress. People are walking by carrying different drinks trying to stay cool as they shop. I find this so interesting to see what they are drinking! Iced coffee.  Something pink with ice from Dunkin’. A smoothie that is green. Lots of water bottles. I am having one of my summer favorites - Snapple Zero Peach flavored. Great choice, right? No sugar here. We all know sugar contributes to tooth decay. But this is not entirely the case.

 

Every beverage that is diet or has no calories and is sweet has some artificial sweetener in it. Artificial sweeteners are not entirely good for your oral health. They have one significant flaw that is highly damaging to your tooth enamel. That is, they are used with various acids to increase their flavor, especially in fruit and citrus flavored foods and beverages. So although the sweetener itself may not do damage to your teeth, the acid ( citric, phosphoric, tartaric) that is often used that will erode your enamel.

 

As Harvard Medical School notes, if you trade a sugary soda for a diet soda sweetened with sucralose or aspartame, you're simply replacing one nutritionally questionable drink with another. The diet soda won't give you extra calories, but it also won't deliver the nutrition your body needs. The Wisconsin Dental Association also points out that diet sodas and soft drinks have their own acids, which can wear down enamel and contribute to decay.

 

Let’s look at this a little closer. The amount of acid in a drink can be measured by its pH. I looked up a table of pH values of some popular drinks that are sugar-free. As a point of reference, battery acid which is toxic and highly corrosive has a pH of 0.8. “Erosive” pH to enamel is anything below 4. Diet Coke is 3.10. Powerade Lemon Lime Zero is 2.94. My Snapple Zero is 3.20! Water, by the way, comes in at a safe and healthy 7.0.

 

So what is the solution? I think the first thing to consider is to change your consumption of drinks towards things that are less sweet in general. I know I would not be successful at this if I did it all at once, but gradually step back from added sugars or artificial sweeteners. If your go-to drink in the summer is an iced coffee with an additional 3 packets of sweeteners (yes I have seen that first hand), try 2, then 1, then none. Try not having the sweet beverages in your house, and only have them when you are out. Small steps towards less added sweeteners go a long way. Try other ways to sweeten your drinks like adding fruit to water.

 

There are many other general health reasons why limiting sugar is a good idea, and limiting artificial sweeteners and drinks that contain them should be included. Here’s to a healthy, cool, summer! Make an appointment today by visiting our website today