I have practiced dentistry long enough to see sugary trends come and go. When I was in college at Texas Tech sodas were all the rave. I remember how my eyes perked up as I walked by a soda machine on my way to virtually every class. When I would step out of my boring organic chemistry class my mouth would begin to water and I would reach for the crisp dollar bill in my pocket and head straight towards the promise of blissful sugar. I must admit, a sugary soda was a great ‘self reward’ for sitting through another dry lecture on stereochemistry.
In the past few years I have seen other sugary drinks replace the traditional sodas, namely energy drinks. They sound appealing with their promise of increased energy and mental alertness…. just what the average teenager supposedly needs, but they are really just an ultra sugary blend of bubbles and carbohydrates that quench our desire for sugar.
While some sugary drinks come and go, the trusty, comforting standby, sweet tea, has stood the test of time. Sweet tea is just like it sounds: water, tea leaves and a ton of sugar.
Just a few months ago I actually witnessed sweet tea being made at a restaurant. My eyes got wider and wider as I gawked at the amount of sugar that the employee dissolved in the water. Once the cloud of sugar particles in the air settled, I almost went and tested the valve just to see if actual liquid would go into my cup or maple syrup.
So what’s the big deal about energy drinks and sweet tea? What’s wrong with these high calorie supplements to a typical diet? Unfortunately any drink that either bubbles, tingles, or is sweet sticks to your teeth and leads to tooth decay. Have you ever drank something and then felt a thick, uncomfortable coating on your teeth…that’s plaque. The bacteria that coat our teeth love the sugar in these drinks. The bacteria literally ingest the sugar and excrete acid as the byproduct. This acid excretion combines with the natural carbonation of energy drinks and forms a plaque that slowly dissolves tooth structure. The decay first appears as a white line at the gum line of teeth. If this plaque is not removed or if the drink is consistently consumed, the white line turns black and the tooth becomes sensitive. Usually this is the point when the patient… or the patient’s mom calls my office. I would estimate that 25% of my typical day is spent treating these types of cavities.
What’s the solution to this problem? What can be done to prevent these types of cavities? Quite simply we should limit the exposure of our teeth to these types of drinks. A sweet tea or energy drink is okay every once in a while, but drinking sweet tea at every meal or sipping on an energy drink for a couple of hours is just asking for problems. When you do drink something sugary, brush your teeth, chew a piece of sugar free gum or rinse your mouth with water immediately afterward. Don’t sip your drink for hours and increase the exposure time of your teeth to sugar or acid. Employing one of these three things will help decrease the likelihood of significant problems and lessen the chances of frequent visits to the dentist. Sugary drinks come and go, but your teeth are meant to last.
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