EVER nursed a cup of tea on your desk throughout your work day or sustained your energy with constant sips of cold coffee?
You might not think twice about this daily habit, but dentists have warned it could be terrible for your teeth – worse even than indulging in cavity-breeding sweets and fizzy drinks.
Sipping on your brew throughout the day is breaking down your teeth, according to a dentist
That’s because the acid in drinks is the component most likely to wreak havoc on your pearly whites, Dr Dante Devoti, a New York City-based dentist, said.
According to the expert, almost any drink – including sparkling water – is acidic to some degree.
“Tooth enamel is the hardest mineralized substance in your body, but prolonged exposure to acid, especially acidic liquids, can cause teeth to demineralize, erode, and become more susceptible to cavities,” the dentist told the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
“Drinking one cup of coffee, tea, juice, or other drink in a single sitting is better for your teeth than sipping one cup throughout the entire day,” Dr Devoti added.
Basically, sipping at anything other than still water for hours is very bad news for your gnashers.
The saliva in your mouth will wash away food particles in your mouth and neutralise the levels of acid.
But the process of neutralising the pH levels of your mouth to a more ‘protective’ range can take up to an hour, according to Dr Devoti.
So when you’re sipping at the same drink throughout the day, your saliva won’t have the time to raise your oral pH, so your teeth are not remineralized and strengthened.
The longer acid lingers in your mouth, the faster damage will occur and a persistently low (acidic) pH creates an environment where the structure of your teeth is at risk of dissolving.
It’s even worse if you add sugar, cream or other flavourings to the coffee or tea you nurse for hours on end.
Dr Devoti also sought to burst the bubble for anyone who loves a fizzy drink.
“Drinking soda is essentially a sugary acid bath for the teeth,” he stated.
Fizzy drinks have a pH between three and four, your gnashers will begin to break down when your oral pH is lower than 5.5.
The harmful bacteria in your mouth will also begin to feed in the sugar in your soda and converting them to acid, further reducing the pH levels and creating “a cycle of destruction to your teeth,” according to Dr Devoti.
The same goes for sugar-free and diet fizzy drinks – though they don’t have the same sugar, they’re just as acidic as their non-diet versions.
“When there’s repeated, long exposures, almost all food and drink can be considered harmful to teeth,” Dr Devoti said in summary.
“Good oral habits go beyond brushing and flossing to recognising how eating and drinking habits, such as frequently snacking or sipping on beverages throughout the day, can be equally impactful on the health of our teeth.”