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Drinking fizzy drinks

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  • 10-01-2012 6:25pm
    #1
    Motorist
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 892 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    Bit of a basic question.

    I converted to drinking sugar free sodas a few years back. I dont really take any sugar in my diet apart from whats in fruits but was wondering - how damaging for your teeth is carbonated soda, even when it's sugar-free.

    I drink it daily and was wondering if I am best to give it up altogether from a dental health perspective.

    Many thanks.


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    #2
    Damokc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭Damokc


    Motorist wrote: »
    Hi all,

    Bit of a basic question.

    I converted to drinking sugar free sodas a few years back. I dont really take any sugar in my diet apart from whats in fruits but was wondering - how damaging for your teeth is carbonated soda, even when it's sugar-free.

    I drink it daily and was wondering if I am best to give it up altogether from a dental health perspective.

    Many thanks.

    Dunno how true it is but they say the artificial sweeteners used instead of sugar are actually worse!


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    #3
    Motorist
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 892 ✭✭✭Motorist


    Damokc wrote: »
    Dunno how true it is but they say the artificial sweeteners used instead of sugar are actually worse!

    I think you might be right from a general health perspective, but I dont think from dental health. Aspartame can increase cravings for sugar and carbohydrates, deplete the body’s stores of chromium which is crucial for blood-sugar metabolism, and it supposedly can depress serotonin.


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    #4
    digzy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,049 ✭✭✭digzy


    doesn't matter. both are acidic which is what causes the damage. if you must.....have it with your dinner but you'd be better off to avoid as much as possible


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    #5
    Tefral
    Registered Users Posts: 4,318 ✭✭✭Tefral


    My dentist told me if I must drink them then drink them through a straw if possible


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    #6
    ballsymchugh
    Registered Users Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    just to emphasise what digzy said...

    regular coke has a pH of 2.5, diet coke has a pH of 2. on a logarithmic scale, that means diet coke is 5 times more acidic than regular coke.


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    #7
    Oral Surgeon
    Registered Users Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    Motorist wrote: »
    Hi all,

    Bit of a basic question.

    I converted to drinking sugar free sodas a few years back. I dont really take any sugar in my diet apart from whats in fruits but was wondering - how damaging for your teeth is carbonated soda, even when it's sugar-free.

    I drink it daily and was wondering if I am best to give it up altogether from a dental health perspective.

    Many thanks.

    Regular soda ( Cocacola, 7 up....) have 2 damaging components; the huge amount of sugar and the acidity.
    The sugar will cause dental decay...
    The acidity will cause some loss of hard tissue due to acid erosion.

    Diet drinks have sweeteners (sugar alcohols) that don't cause dental decay. They may not be great for your overall health but....
    Any carbonated drink is fizzy because it has dissolved CO2 . The resulting carbonic acid causes a drop in pH so is acidic and can cause erosion...

    Fruit and fruit juices can cause erosion too. They also contain sugars but not the highly refined carbohydrates like in coke... so there is a smaller risk of decay with these.

    Bottom line- you can't live on holy water so everything in moderation. Concentrate on reducing the frequency of intake to reduce risk of erosion and decay.

    Good luck,
    OS


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