We receive patients at our office for a variety of different reasons. One such reason is because of the damage that can be done to a patient’s teeth by soda consumption. Soda is a pervasive substance, and statistics show that it is consumed daily by more than 50 percent of Americans of all ages. Unfortunately, these patients are unaware that constant soda consumption can raise the risk of tooth decay, which can end up costing the patient teeth if they are not careful. Today, Dr. Susan Karabin and Dr. Edward Gottesman are blogging to speak to New York and Manhattan area patients about the dangers of soda consumption.
Protect Your Teeth from Soda Damage
Soda works in two main ways to attack the health and structure of your teeth. The first of these ways is through its high sugar content. When you drink a can of soda, this sugar ends up stuck to your teeth, where it will sit until you brush your teeth. This sugar is dangerous to your oral health because it attracts bacteria to your teeth, which uses sugar to create acids. These acids will eat away at the defensive layers of your teeth, eventually reaching the pulp and root of your teeth if left untreated. This resulting condition is called tooth decay, some symptoms of which include chronic bad breath, off-color spots on your teeth, and toothaches.
The second way that soda is hurting your teeth is through its carbonation. In order to carbonate a beverage, carbonic acid has to be used. Because of this, every time you drink a soda your teeth will be exposed to a 20 to 30-minute-long acid attack. This acid will eat away at the defensive layers of your teeth, just like the acid produced by bacteria will. Enough of these attacks will leave your teeth defenseless against decay and other dangerous oral conditions.
If you insist on drinking soda, even with the potential complications that can arise due to the sugary treat, then we recommend you take some steps that will lessen the amount of damage your teeth receive:
- First, we advise you to drink your soda quickly, as taking longer than 30 minutes to finish one soda can result in your teeth facing a second acid attack.
- Second, you should try to only drink soda when you have a straw, which can prevent your teeth from taking a full blast of the substance.
- Finally, we recommend that you drink water directly after finishing your soda. Doing this can wash away much of the sugar and carbonation left on your teeth.
Call and Schedule a Consultation at Perio NYC
As you can see, soda can actually corrupt your teeth to the point where they will need to be pulled. If this is your situation, rest assured that our office has a variety of different tooth restoration treatments that we can use to restore beauty and function to your smile. If you would like to learn more about how soda might damage your smile or our tooth restoration treatments, contact our office and schedule a no-obligation consultation with Drs. Karabin and Gottesman today.
