Will Soda Really Ruin My Teeth?

If your teeth are one of the hardest parts of your body, then how could soda damage them? Tune in to learn more.

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Episode Transcript

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dot com slash brain Stuff and remember that is the
Great Courses Plus dot com slash brain Stuff. Welcome to
brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, it's
me Christian Sager. So there's this urban myth that soda

(02:12):
can dissolve a tooth overnight. The Internet has thoroughly busted this.
But just because it's proven that hanging onto a mouthful
of cola for upwards of twelve hours won't hollow out
your jaw, that doesn't mean you should try it. Soft
drinks can indeed damage your pearly whites. But how and
how much? Well, let's talk teeth. Your teeth have four

(02:34):
basic layers, the root, the pulp, the denton protecting the pulp,
and the enamel tooth. Enamel is the hardest tissue the
human body produces. It's made up of crystal fibers packed
together into a smooth mineral casing, or as we call it,
a crown. But unlike your bones, enamel is not a

(02:54):
living tissue. Because it's not alive. That also means it
can't repair itself. That means it takes damage from daily
wear and tear, including what we eat and what we drink.
There are two types of trouble. Drinks can cause all
over erosion due to the acids they contain, and spot
decay caused by the bacteria that grow on your teeth.

(03:16):
Both come down to a pH imbalance on a scale
from zero to xenomorph. The human mouth has a pretty
neutral pH level, something around six point eight. The pH
scale itself runs from zero to fourteen, with zero being
the most acidic, fourteen being the most base or alkaline,

(03:36):
and seven being neutral like pure water. Some of the
bacteria in your mouth are sugar hungry, so when you
consume sweet stuff like soda, they throw the bacterial equivalent
of a house party. They'll link up into colonies on
your teeth called a biofilm or plaque, and feast on
the sugar and the lookscrete acids, which can weaken your

(03:58):
enamel whenever they're ancred down, eventually causing cavities. But Christian,
you might say, I only drink sugar free sodas well,
that'll save you from cavities. But all sodas contain acids
of their own. On the pH scale, soft drinks have
been found to range from around four point oh to
two point four. For comparison, battery acid is a one.

(04:23):
Your saliva should bring your mouth back to normal within
half an hour or so, but your enamel can be
affected by anything from about a five point five or below.
The erosion in decay caused by chronic soda consumption can
be rampant, and yes, rampant is the official medical term.
In one case study, soda abuse was found to do

(04:44):
dental damage equivalent to meth or crack abuse. The only
difference was the shade of discoloration in the patient's remaining teeth.
Dentists recommend using straws and rinsing with water after drinking
any acidic or sugar re stuff. They also stress rushing
twice a day with fluoride or remineralizing products to help

(05:07):
maintain your enamel. In fact, it can't heal itself from
the inside the way your bones do, but the mineral
structure can be buffeted from the outside. These are good
habits even if you've never touched a soda in your life.
After all, sodas aren't the only culprits in enamel erosion,
in tooth decay, and your future relationship with dentures isn't

(05:29):
the only thing at stake here. Research has linked oral
health and whole body health. This means a disease that
starts in the mouth may have a hand in heart disease,
rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory infections, and even some cancers. Check out

(05:51):
the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for more on
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