What drinks are bad for our teeth?

Young girl drinking sugary drink with a straw
  • Soft drinks/diet or no sugar soft drinks
  • Energy drinks
  • Sports drinks
  • Cordial
  • Fruit juice and fruit drinks/smoothies
  • Flavoured water
  • Soda/carbonated/tonic water
  • Flavoured milk
  • Slushies

All of these drinks either have natural sugar, added sugar and a high acidic content. Both sugar and acid increases your child risk to decay. As these drinks feed the bacteria that causes the decay and the acid component creates an environment that the bacteria thrive on. The acid will also cause erosion of the enamel. Even moving to a sugar free drink will generally have more acid component and will increase the risk of eroding the enamel off your teeth.

Children should be consuming less then 6 teaspoon of sugar per day or 24grams.

So just to give you an idea…

  • 375ml can of coke contains 10 tsp sugar
  • 600ml Gatorade sports drinks contains 9tsp sugar
  • 250ml of natural apple juice 6.5 tsp sugar
  • Medium slurpee 6.5 tsp sugar

If you are to have any of these drinks here are some tips to help reduce damage to your teeth.

  • Rinse with water when finished
  • Use a straw
  • Have your drink with a meal
  • Brush your teeth after 30 minutes
  • Have regular dental appointments

By avoiding these drinks you are not only helping to keep your teeth healthy but your overall sugar intake will be reduced. This is all plays a pivotal roll in our overall general health.