|
Washington: An alarming spike in the consumption of
sports and energy drinks, especially among teens, is irreversibly
damaging the tooth enamel with their high acid content, says a
study.
"Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are
essentially bathing their teeth with acid," says Poonam Jain of
the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, who
led the study.
Damage caused to tooth enamel is irreversible, and without the
protection of enamel, teeth become overly sensitive, prone to
cavities, and more likely to decay, the journal General Dentistry
reports.
Researchers examined the acidity levels in 13 sports and nine
energy drinks. They found that the acidity levels can vary between
beverages and flavours of the same brand, according to a Southern
Illinois statement.
To test the effect of the acidity levels, researchers immersed
samples of human tooth enamel in each beverage for 15 minutes,
followed by immersion in artificial saliva for two hours. This
cycle was repeated four times a day for five days, and the samples
were stored in fresh artificial saliva at all other times.
"This type of testing simulates the same exposure that a large
proportion of American teens and young adults are subjecting their
teeth to on a regular basis when they drink one of these beverages
every few hours," says Jain, also director, Community and
Preventive Dentistry Program at Illinois.
Researchers found that damage to enamel was evident after only
five days of exposure to sports or energy drinks, although energy
drinks showed a significantly greater potential to damage teeth
than sports drinks. In fact, the authors found that energy drinks
caused twice as much damage to teeth as sports drinks.
With a reported 30 to 50 percent of US teens consuming energy
drinks, and as many as 62 percent consuming at least one sports
drink per day, it is important to educate parents and young adults
about the downside of these drinks.
"Teens regularly come into my office with these types of symptoms,
but they don't know why," says Academy of General Dentistry
spokeswoman Jennifer Bone.
Bone recommends that her patients minimise their intake of sports
and energy drinks. She also advises them to chew sugar-free gum or
rinse the mouth with water following consumption of the drinks.
"Both tactics increase saliva flow, which naturally helps to
return the acidity levels in the mouth to normal," says Bone.
|
Comments
|
Quick links