What drink is best for teeth?

jenniewb

cepheus wrote: »

You can drink small amount of bi-carb for stomach acid, it might make you burp though.

With regards the acid content it is quite frightening, see the list here. Bear in mind that a PH of 3 is ten times as strong as 4

http://www.21stcenturydental.com/smith/pH_drinks.htm

I used to drink diet coke to avoid sugar, for my teeth, rather self defeating since it corrodes directly! There should be a warning on the bottle, THIS DRINK WILL CORRODE YOUR TEETH!

brook2jack wrote: »

As will any carbonated , citric acid containing drink.

Chewing gum does stimulate saliva which neutralises acid but since the damage is done during direct contact of drink with tooth particularly with people who swoosh drinks, chewing gum will do little for this type of problem.

As an aside when I was in the TA some people used diet coke or tomato sauce to remove carbon deposits from breech blocks (big bits of metal inside a gun). It was a serious offence to be found doing this since it ate away at the metal eventually making it unusable.

Any carbonated drink should be an occasional treat not a diet staple.

Totally agree, and it is scary. I think its the same as with most things though, everythings OK in moderation. By all means never touch diet coke again but if stopping it is going to make you miserable (I know some who are addicted to diet coke and see it as the nessescary evil in their life to get through the day, eg some have coffee, smoke or drink, they have diet coke) then a little of what you fancy- though not every day, isn't going to kill you. Just try to make sure your teeth are well looked after inbetween.

Oh and I was also told and have later read that brushing teeth directly after eating acidic foods/drinking acidic drinks is not good either- you need to wait for either your saliva or water to neutrilise the acid left over in your mouth before brushing or you can end up brushing acid back onto your teeth.

brook2jack

Yes wait 30 minutes to an hour after tooth contact with acid before rushing teeth.
The other important thing is to be honest with and speak to your dentist about any eating disorders or fizzy drink/isotonic/ sports drink/citrus fruit/smoothie/white wine etc habits. There maybe things they can do eg prescribe high fluoride toothpastes etc to help contain some of the damage.

Also in many people the damage is compounded by tooth clenching or grinding particularly at night and again a night guard made by a dentist may help.

Finally stomach acid can be a big factor not just with vomiting but acid reflux may be seen with hiatus hernias, indigestion, obesity etc and that has other serious health risks not just to teeth.

cepheus

My dentist just advised me not to drink the fizzy soda. He said wine was OK however looking at a few links, the pH of red wine: is 3.3-3.5!

I_know_my_ABC_and_my_CMYK

Toothsmith wrote: »

What she said! ^^^^^^^^^^^^

Milk & water are safe.

Tea & coffee (with NO sugar) are basically just a combination of milk & water, sot that's OK too (That's animal milk though, not soya or oat)

Anything else will be either sugary or acidic to some degree or other.

Are sweeteners in place of sugar actually safe or not?

I_know_my_ABC_and_my_CMYK

cepheus wrote: »

My dentist just advised me not to drink the fizzy soda. He said wine was OK however looking at a few links, the pH of red wine: is 3.3-3.5!

My nephew has eroded the enamel on the back of his front teeth due to constantly drinking coke.

Not a very nice thought at all, he had to have 2 root canals done.

brook2jack

Are sweetners safer than sugar? Well in terms of erosion it is the bubbles and citric acid that do the damage so diet coke is as bad as coke.

The balance goes backwards and forwards on the addition of sweetners. However the problem is that many people see carbonated drinks as a daily essential rather than a treat. If you keep water ,milk, tea and coffee as your main drinks and just have fizz ,wine,smoothies, fruit juice, cider etc as occasional treats then the sweetner discussion becomes less vital.

cepheus

Has anyone any views about this new Sensodyne toothpaste being plugged at present? Perhaps the word 'repair' shouldn't be used for a product which recoats with a non-enamel substance?

New Sensodyne Repair & Protect is an advanced toothpaste that can repair sensitive areas of your teeth. It contains Novamin technology which seeks out
and helps repair vulnerable areas that cause the twinge of sensitivity....

The unique formula that contains Novamin, a concentrated calcium technology, helps repair vulnerable areas with the natural building blocks of the teeth. Once it comes into contact with saliva, the Novamin formula releases calcium and phosphate, the natural building blocks of teeth. These ions form a protective mineral layer to repair the vulnerable areas of the tooth.

http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/sensodyne-repair-and-protect-toothpaste_1_177182.html

Interesting that it almost contradicts Sensodynes own website which clearly states that enamel can't be repaired.

http://www.pronamel.co.uk/en/faqs.aspx#22