A healthy smile isn’t only brought upon by visits to your dentist or your orthodontist here at Doleski & Wolford Orthodontics. It’s not even just about your typical oral hygiene regimen (but please don’t stop the great work that you’re doing!). The foods that you eat can have a major effect on your dental health. While some foods are great for your teeth, others can have a detrimental effect on them. One such common beverage that can be very harmful for your teeth is soda.
How Soda Affects Your Dental Health
Consuming soda is one of the leading causes of tooth decay. Soda is very acidic, which can eat away at your tooth enamel and cause cavities. That’s not the only problem either! Soda is also full of sugar, which the bacteria in your mouth will feed on. When the bacteria do this, they’ll create even more harmful acids, giving your teeth a double dose of damaging liquid! Each sip of soda you take will start another acid attack and each one will weaken your tooth enamel further. To prevent this from happening, we simply recommend limiting your intake of soda and choosing a healthier alternative instead.
Healthy Alternatives
Thankfully, there are plenty of great alternatives that you can have that aren’t just healthy for your teeth, but are delicious and refreshing as well! Some of our recommendations are:
Water – A great choice because it doesn’t contain any sugar or acid.
Milk – Like other dairy products, milk is full of calcium, which is terrific for your mouth as it’ll help promote healthy teeth and jaw bones.
Unsweetened Tea – Tea contains polyphenols, which will help fight oral bacteria. Just make sure that the tea isn’t sweet (as the sugar can cause cavities) or black (as it can cause staining).
But If You Drink Soda…
We realize that even despite the negative effects that soda can have on a person’s dental health, some people just love it too much to completely quit. We completely understand! However, we encourage you to take steps to make sure that the damage that the soda can do to your teeth will be limited. Drinking soda in moderation is fine as long as you keep these tips in mind:
- Use a straw to drink your soda whenever you can as the liquid will bypass your teeth and avoid doing damage to them.
- Don’t sip on soda for an extended period of time.
- Rinse your mouth out with water after drinking soda so that the acid and sugar will be diluted.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
- Remember to brush and floss daily.
- Limit your soda consumption to one can per day or less.
Contact Your Erie, PA Orthodontist!
Have any questions for us? Feel free to contact us and let us know! If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment with us, we encourage you to fill out our appointment request form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We can’t wait to hear from you!