Sweetened beverages : attention to your teeth !

While carbonated soft drinks are already known to be highly acidic and therefore have a strong power of erosion on the enamel , which promotes the development of caries , a U.S. study published in the specialized "General Dentistry " magazine compared the damage caused by different sugary drinks.
Consumption of sugary drinks , particularly among children and adolescents increased significantly in recent decades. And while the "light" versions of these drinks are growing more and more cases of multiple caries subsequent to frequent consumption of sugary drinks have also increased , recall Anthony von Fraunhofer , Faculty of Dentistry of the university of Maryland , and Matthew Rogers.

The authors have compared the power of enamel erosion of different drinks sweetened dipping for 14 days (which corresponds to an exposure of 336 hours , achieved in 13 years in their "normal" consumption) in healthy teeth different drinks before measuring the mass loss caused by this treatment.

Tap water was used as a control for other beverages ( -0.02 % on the mass of the tooth after two weeks) , which showed that tea and coffee, causing loss of mass small ( -0.22 % and -0.19% , respectively).

All other sugary beverages analyzed in this study caused a progressive attack the enamel much greater proportional to the duration of exposure, but the results do not necessarily prove ultimately be those that would have been expected .

Thus, according to their results , colas ( regardless of brand and whether or not low-sugar ) are sugary drinks whose consumption proves the least damaging to the enamel.

Indeed, while for colas dissolution of enamel is multiplied "only" by a factor of between 55 and 65 compared to that caused by tap water , the value of the multiplicative factor is nearly 120 for iced tea sold in cans and can be up to 180 other types of sugary soft drinks .

As the followers of drinks "light" , they do not seem protected in this enamel erosion , which , for the same drink, at comparable values for the lighter version of sugar and sweet version of the product.

The authors therefore these differences suggest that the ability to dissolve the enamel of different sugary drinks more dependent on their chemical composition and in their acidity.

The exposure time is also playing a role in the ability of these drinks to attack the enamel, the two American dentists advise to consume during a meal rather than alone, to drink in one go rather than sips , and limit their contact time with the teeth by rinsing the mouth after eating .