When youre having a good time and drinking away on a Friday night, youre probably not thinking about your teeth.
But we Brits, who already have a bad rep for our gnashers, might want to think twice about downing all those vodkas with lime and soda.
Thats because one dentist, Dr Lewis Ehrlich, has shown the effects of alcohol beverages on our teeth, and the results are a bit grim.
Dr Ehrlich, who works at Sydney Holistic Dental Centre, showed the effect of water and alcohol on the teeth.
Uploading the picture of the outer surface of a tooth on his Facebook, Dr Ehrlich showed the stark difference between alcohol and water.
Weve all heard of tooth decay but many havent heard of tooth erosion, he wrote in the post. It is when acids in your diet start to dissolve away your teeth – the hardest substance in the human body!
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This will happen when the pH drops below 5.5. At least 30% of people are affected to some extent.
He shared magnified images of the enamel in a tooth after drinking water. The pH is around 7. It is zoomed in 7000x. Note the smooth, intact surface. The way it should be, he said.
The next pictured showed the surface of the enamel after being exposed to a sugar-free vodka cruiser which has a pH of 3.2. It has more holes than Swiss cheese.
The final image showed the enamel after consuming a gin and tonic which has a PH of 2.2 which visibly had more holes.
Take home message, the doctor wrote. You only get one set of adult teeth. If these drinks can dissolve the hardest part of your body its scary to think what they would be doing elsewhere.
If you prefer to sip on a soft drink instead of a boozy one then your teeth are still in trouble.
If youre going to have them, drink them through a (biodegradable) straw and chase them with a water, advised the doc.
Wait at least 30 mins before brushing your teeth, and its not a bad idea to have some healthy food around to help stimulate saliva and protect those chompers.
PH content of your drinks
The lower the pH of a drink, the more chance there is of your teeth eroding.
To stop your teeth becoming susceptitble to teeth erosion, consume drinks with a higher PH like water which has a figure of 7. The PH of our stomach acid is 2. Tooth enamel can start dissolving around a PH of 5.5 and most of the things we drink usually have a lower figure than that.
Coca Cola: 2.7
Orange Juice: 3.4
Sparkling Mineral Water: 3.7
Gatorade: 3.3
Wine: 2.3 – 3.8
Beer: 4.0 – 5.0
Black coffee: 2.4 – 3.3
Cranberry Juice: 2.3 – 2.5
How to prevent tooth erosion:
Add ice to your drinks to increase the water content
Chew sugar-free chewing gum
Wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth
Eat foods that stimulate saliva such as carrots, celery, nuts
Consume water straight after drinking
Use toothpaste creams that contain CPP-ACP like Tooth Mouse
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