This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Soda: Not so good for your teeth.

Yes, I know there are enough things on the "that's bad for you" list.....smoking, gluten, the sun, credit cards. Well, since this is a dental blog, I'll add one that I see problems from on a daily basis...soda.

Some soda drinks are obviously worse than others. The higher the sugar and acid content, the worse the effects on the teeth. While diet soda may not contain sugar, they still contain high levels of acid. Just read the ingredients....the very first one on the list is usually carbonic or phosphoric acid. Hmmm....drinking acid doesn't sound healthy.
Obviously, bathing your teeth in an acid bath is not good for them. The acid demineralizes (makes softer) your enamel making it easier for cavities to form. So it makes sense that people who sip on a soda all day have more incidence of cavities than people that drink a soda within a short period of time.
 So, try to limit your soda drinking, brush before bed, and see your dentist regularly to prevent expensive damage to your chompers. You'll be glad you did.

-Dr Culver

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Summerville