Sugary drinks can easily become part of our daily routine. From flavored coffee to soda and juice – sugary drinks are everywhere. Although sugary drinks are easy to get our hands on and are passed around for all ages, they can be detrimental to dental health in general. As the name suggests, these drinks are chalk full of sugar which latches onto teeth, which causes problems over time.
Bacteria
As mentioned, these sugary drinks have a tendency to latch on to teeth. This sugar turns into bad bacteria or acid which eats away at the enamel on your teeth and gets under your gums. Even with the best brushing routine, some of this bacteria can stick around. This can cause cavities, decay, gum disease, and bad breath to occur.
Bedtime Routine
Younger children are often given a bottle or sippy cup in order to fall asleep each night. This is a common routine practiced across the world. However, through the night, the sugar left in the mouth works away at the child’s teeth and can quickly become a problem. Usually, at this age, children still have their baby teeth. Baby teeth are vital to a child’s development on multiple levels. This means the care of these teeth are just as important as permanent teeth. Even for adults, a good dental hygiene routine before bed is important and can make a huge difference in dental health.
What About Sugar-Free Drinks?
Even though sugar-free drinks don’t contain types of sugar that can be as harmful as traditional sugar options, they’re still quite harmful to teeth. Soda, juice, coffee, and tea are all acidic which can cause teeth to be stained, or become dull due to the acid eating away at the enamel. If this enamel is eaten away it can cause even more dental health problems than just the appearance of teeth.
Gum Disease
If sugary drink habits are left uncontrolled, gum disease can occur (along with many other dental health issues) and it’s downhill from there. The early stages of gum disease can be reversed however, once it reaches the second stage of gum disease, there’s no going back. Gum disease can cause swollen gums, red gums, bleeding gums, gums to pull away from the teeth, bad breath, loose teeth, rotting teeth, cavities, bone loss, etc. Gum disease is nothing to mess around with and is a real threat when sugary drinks are involved on a consistent basis.
Many people will overlook the impact drinks can have on their teeth. The effect foods can have on our teeth is pretty common knowledge, even at an early age. However, drinks are often forgotten or ignored when it comes to healthier choices. Despite liquids seeming less harmless than solid foods, they’re not and can cause quite a bit of damage to teeth over time, at any age.
