The Dental Buzz On Energy Drinks
by Dr. Rita Dargham D.M.D.
Read The Dental Buzz On Energy Drinks by Dr. Rita Dargham D.M.D. to learn more about Grove Smiles® Dentistry and our Dentistry office in Coconut Grove, FL.
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The warm sunny Florida weather is now just beginning to get hot! As we are taking off and jumping into activities outdoors in this heat be careful of what you drink.
We know water is best but what about those energy drinks to replace electrolytes?
As you already suspect those Energy Drinks contain a lot of sugar, but at least, they’re not as bad as soda pop, right? Unfortunately, the ugly truth is energy and sports drinks can be even worse for your teeth than soft drinks.
Powerful Punch To The Mouth
Energy and sports drinks launch a two-fold attack on your teeth: sugar and acid. Drinks like Gatorade and Powerade have about half the sugar of sodas, but popular energy drinks like Monster or Fuel often have the same amount of sugar as soda (or more). In addition, both sports and energy drinks are loaded with acid—enough to do ten times more damage to tooth enamel than soda.
To help conduct studies on this subject researchers immersed tooth enamel in a variety of popular sports and energy drinks for 15 minutes and then transferred it to artificial saliva to imitate the effects of consuming energy drinks a couple times a day. The power was in the proof as significant enamel damage only took five days.
The Target Market
The market for energy drinks has almost tripled in the past few years, targeting teens and young adults. Considering their popularity, it’s important to know about the dangers. Today, half of the teens drink one (or more) sports drinks or energy drinks daily.
Top Teeth Tips
Here are some top teeth tips to minimize damage caused to your teeth by sports and energy drinks:
- Rinse out your mouth with water or chew some sugar-free gum after having energy drinks. This rebalances the pH level in your mouth to counteract the acid.
- Don’t brush for a while after drinking—your enamel is still soft and brushing can damage it even more.
- Drink sports drinks before you get dehydrated, not after. That way, you’ll have the saliva you need to protect your teeth.
- Drink it all at once (but don’t choke!). Your mouth will take some time to recover after each sip, so drinking continuously prevents teeth from regaining their protection.
- Stick to healthier options when NOT working out. Sports drinks are meant to rehydrate and replenish when you’re working out hard. So, if you’re just “active”, consider alternatives like water or electrolyte drops in water.
Want To Learn More?
Here at Grove Smiles Dentistry serving Coconut Grove and the Miami, Fl areas, we want you to be aware of what you can do to help prevent enamel damage. Parents and athletes (pro or weekend warriors) if you would like to learn more please call us today.
We Are On Your Team!
For Your Health,
Dr. Rita Dargham D.M.D.
