Lets be honest here, we all love the sugary, carbonated taste of soda every once in a while. I know I do. There is nothing better than coming home in the summer, crack open that cold can of coke, and savoring the delicious taste 🙂 Little did you know, soda has many secrets that they are  trying to keep hidden from the world so we stay under their delicious spell for forever. I’m sure soda isn’t doing a thing for your waistline either, but it is also rotting your teeth! Eeeeek!

Some of the less obvious staining on your teeth is caused by the sugar and acid consumed as a result of drinking soda. Researchers say drinking soda can be just as corrosive to teeth as drinking battery acid. Who would knowingly drink battery acid but willingly chug a soda?

The sugar and the acid in soda help eachother. The acid brings bacteria to your mouth, and the bacteria sits on top of your teeth. The bacteria sitting on your teeth feeds off of sugar. So when you drink soda with a high amount of sugar in it, you are feeding the bacteria in your mouth caused by acid. The acid alone begins to erode your tooth enamel around the bacterial colony that is caused by the sugar when it enters your moth. It allows the bacteria to move into the eroded areas and eventually leading to cavaties. It’s a big vicious circle that needs to be stopped dead in its tracks.

A coke contains more than 9tsp. of sugar (WHAT!). That much sugar adds layers of sugars to your teeth, and when those layers are on your teeth, they cause plaque to build up. Over time, this layer can produce a yellowed effect on your teeth. Soda has a Carmel dye added into it to create that signature deep brown color. It doesn’t even add any flavor to the drink, it just does more damage to your teeth. The carmel coloring contributes to yellowing of your teeth, and weakedn enamel makes it easer for teeth to become stained.

By cutting out soda you are doing a favor to your body in general. It prevents tooth decy, plaque build up, cavaties, staining, and many other things.

I understand if you’re hooked on soda, and you can’t cut it out COMPLETELY, which is why I have a few suggestions to help the process. First, try cutting down your soda intake by half per day. So if you drink 4 sodas a day, try to only drink 2. If you tend to sip on soda throughout the day, try to eliminate that completely. It is better for you to try and drink it at once when you are sitting down for a meal. Try drinking soda with a straw, it limits the contact with your teeth. Once you are finished drinking soda, immediatly rinse your mouth out water, and floss. These are all suggestions if you can’t  cut soda out completely. But next time you pick up that can full of acid and sugra, think twice about how much you love your teeth 🙂

Managing your oral health is important. Teeth is one of the few things in the body which cannot regenerate. Take care of them now, and avoid the work later in life.