Diet Soda and Dental Health: What You Need to Know

In today’s calorie-obsessed culture, it can be hard to find the truth among all of the health-conscious noise. Often times, Houston residents are misinformed and misled about the health benefits of trends like as cleanses, sugar alternatives, diets, organic vs. nonorganic, and a myriad of other common topics. Today Dr. Dassani would like to clear up any misconceptions about dental health and diet soda. If you have any questions please call us at Dassani Dentistry.

Are Diet Sodas Healthy?

The short answer is no. Originally conceived as low-calorie alternatives to one of America’s first commercial legacies, diet sodas have become extremely popular amidst our country’s battle to lose weight. There’s only one little problem – diet sodas are only marginally better than regular soda. Compared to water, diet soda has zero nutritional value and contains many ingredients that are harmful outside of moderation.

Diet Soda & Dental Health

Diet soft drinks are not good for your teeth. Although they are better than regular sodas, which usually have around 45g of sugar per serving, sugar is not the only problem with soda. For example:

• Phosphoric acid and citric acid (present in nearly all diet soda) eat away at your enamel, causing acid erosion. If you like to sip soda throughout the day, your teeth may be under soda-fueled acid attack for several hours per day.
• Carbonated colas have been shown to cause bone loss. As part of the body’s attempt to neutralize the disruption to pH levels in the stomach, calcium and other basic (ph of 7+) minerals are leached from the bloodstream to maintain equilibrium.
• Artificial sweeteners in diet sodas, such as aspartame and sucralose, may help stall tooth decay, but health advocates warn that they may cause problems such as toxicity to brain cells, headaches, and have been linked to weight gain.
• Diet sodas often contain caffeine, which has diuretic and laxative properties. Combined with the fact that drinking diet soda regularly means you are drinking less water, this can cause a chronic dehydration problem. This can lead to dry mouth, bad breath, and increased risk of gum disease and tooth decay.

Do You Have to Give up Diet Soda?

We know that lots of Houston folks love their soda and Dr. Dassani won’t tell anyone what they can and can’t drink. We at Dassani Dentistry provide this information so that you can make informed decisions about your health. We want everyone in Houston to have beautiful smiles and healthy teeth, but it’s up to you to maintain healthy habits that keep your teeth safe between visits to Dr. Dassani. If you have any questions or would like to visit us for an evaluation, schedule an appointment today.

Sources

http://www.businessinsider.com/diet-coke-teeth-sugar-health-2011-10

http://www.livescience.com/7198-acids-popular-sodas-erode-tooth-enamel.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/diet-soda-teeth-similar-to-meth-photos_n_3348158.html

About Meghna Dassani, DMD

Dr. Meghna Dassani received her initial dental training from the University of Mumbai, India, where she graduated in 1996 as Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). After working as an associate for one year, she established her own practice in Mumbai, India. She successfully operated this practice for six years prior to moving to the US. When Dr. Meghna Dassani is not in the office she is at home being a mommy to her 2 beautiful girls and enjoying time relaxing with her husband. Since opening her own practice in 2011 she doesn’t have a lot of free time but when the time allows she enjoys traveling, reading, gardening, cooking, visiting with friends and family and of course SHOPPING with a Starbucks in her hand!