Fizzy/Still flavoured water

pkj666

I gave up alcohol 12 months ago and have been drinking Asda flavoured fizzy water ever since instead having been to the dentist yesterday and having found out i need 2 fillings replaced and 2 new ones doing a friend said the fizzy water was bad for me (obviously not as bad as the booze i was downing on a daily basis)
So im now wondering weather i need to switch to still flavoured water as its supposedly better for you,any help,advice or input would be gratefully appreciated.
Many thanks

Toothsmith

I'm afraid it's probably the 'flavour' more than the fizzy or still that's causing the problem.

There is almost certainly sugar in there, and it's the frequent amounts of little bits of sugar that is doing the damage. If it says 'no added sugar' - then that still doesn't mean sugar free I'm afraid, and that will still cause decay.

You need to go onto plain water.

Water and milk are the only things 'safe' to drink between mealtimes. (That includes tea & coffee which is basically just milk & water anyway - so long as no sugar is taken with it).

Artytarty

O, that's interesting. I always thought it was the carbonation that somehow demineralesd the teeth.
Ugh, I hate plain ,still water! And milk.

jenniewb

I used to near enough live off fizzy diet drinks and was probably addicted to them, I only drank things that were fizzy and had a (sugar free) flavour and the occasional coffee or tea (with milk and sugar).
I recently (in the last year or so) have worked on cutting out and cutting back and now drink sugar free squash which I had thought was safe to drink for my teeth as there was no fizz and I was diluting it far more than advised on the bottle.


Despite this, unless I am eating something with the squash, if I have too much of it (a few glasses) over a few hours without food, OMG my teeth HURT! They feel so sensitive and even are too painful to brush without tears filling up in my eyes! I'd never had this problem with fizzy drinks and am pretty shocked to be honest, I never would have thought that low sugar squash drinks-even if they are far more diluted, could cause damage comparable if not worse than the fizzy drinks I had been having.


I'm still working on the drink thing, water really isn't cutting it at the moment so I'm trying to make sure I don't drink too much without eating or rinsing my mouth with water and a basic mouth wash. I hope you find something better for your teeth to drink but rest assured you're not alone in the problem!

brook2jack

There are several factors to consider with drinks.

one is sugar content which causes decay , you should limit sugar attacks to three times a day and low sugar just means there is less sugar than the full fat version so there is still sugar there.

the second is acidity which causes acid erosion which is different to decay. Fizzy drinks, drinks with citrus flavours/juice, fruit teas and many herbal teas , white wine,cider etc are all acidic and these cause damage to teeth.

thirdly if your teeth are already damaged anything liquid has to potential to caise pain as the protective enamel has gone. Seek your dentists advice as to how to control the sensitivity.

tillyenna

I tend to drink really weak squash - I can't stand plain water either, so I figure that weak squash is better than nothing, and certainly better than fizz or juice. I used to like really strong squash (also quite bad for you) so I gradually reduced the amount until I could cope with it being weak.


If you want to be really healthy, make up some water with fruit or herbs in - you'd be amazed at what a slice of lemon, or some mint can do for the taste of water!

Toothsmith

tillyenna wrote: »

I tend to drink really weak squash - I can't stand plain water either, so I figure that weak squash is better than nothing, and certainly better than fizz or juice. I used to like really strong squash (also quite bad for you) so I gradually reduced the amount until I could cope with it being weak.


If you want to be really healthy, make up some water with fruit or herbs in - you'd be amazed at what a slice of lemon, or some mint can do for the taste of water!

I'm afraid 'weak' squash is just as bad.

If you imagine something as small as a bacteria, they will find even a grain or two of sugar more than a feast. It's not like there is a level of sugar so small that the bacteria can't use it.

It's not the sugar in the drink that is doing the damage - it is the acidic waste products the bacteria produce, right against the tooth surface, when they digest the sugar in the drink.

brook2jack

Sorry to say that splash of lemon or any fruit juice adds both sugar and in citrus fruit acid. It's no better than drinking squash.

jenniewb

tillyenna wrote: »

I tend to drink really weak squash - I can't stand plain water either, so I figure that weak squash is better than nothing, and certainly better than fizz or juice. I used to like really strong squash (also quite bad for you) so I gradually reduced the amount until I could cope with it being weak.


If you want to be really healthy, make up some water with fruit or herbs in - you'd be amazed at what a slice of lemon, or some mint can do for the taste of water!

Toothsmith wrote: »

I'm afraid 'weak' squash is just as bad.

If you imagine something as small as a bacteria, they will find even a grain or two of sugar more than a feast. It's not like there is a level of sugar so small that the bacteria can't use it.

It's not the sugar in the drink that is doing the damage - it is the acidic waste products the bacteria produce, right against the tooth surface, when they digest the sugar in the drink.

I can vouch for this too- if you read my post above. I have been having weak low/sugar free squash and have been having far more tooth sensitivity than I even had with fizzy diet drinks! I have cut back on the sugar in coffee and switched to tea (with soya milk though which also isn't so teeth friendly) and have been trying to drink more teeth friendly stuff but it is very difficult sticking to anything I decide to do, I don't think I'm alone in that.