Scientists from the Melbourne University’s Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre have revealed that a wide range of sugar-free soft drinks, sports drinks and sweets are just as harmful to teeth as their sugared counterparts due to their chemical composition.
Sugar can destroy teeth when it is fermented by bacteria to produce acid that leads to decay.
The researchers concluded that sugar free drinks many can strip away a tooth’s outer layer — leading to chalkiness of the tooth’s surface, pitting, opacity, tooth sensitivity and other issues.
Eric Reynolds, an oral health professor, and his co-authors wrote in the Australian Dental Journal said “Therefore, banning sugar-containing beverages from schools may have positive health effects for reducing obesity, diabetes and dental caries but it may not reduce the risk of dental erosion.”
They recommended that when it comes to drinks you may want to minimize both sugared and sugar substitute beverages and choose the most basic, old fashioned method way of rehydrating — water.
