Fizzy drinks can cause some significant damage to your teeth and general heath. There are three main damaging factors: the sugar content, the acidic properties and the staining effect.
The ph of a solution is defined as the hydrogen ion, H+, concentration of said solution (ThoughtCo, 2017). The ph scale ranges from 0-14. Ph 7 being a neutral ph, every ph above being classed as alkali and every ph before being classed as acidic. The mouth has a neutral ph that varies slightly from 6.5-7.5. This ph is maintained by buffers in the mouth, particularly in saliva. Buffers are solutions made up of either a weak acid and its salt or a weak base and its salt. They are used to resist the ph change in a solution when small amounts of acids or bases are added. …show more content…
The sugars in soft drinks are different in comparison to sugars in breads or pastas as these sugars do not break down in the mouth.
Another damaging factor is how soft drinks cause staining of the teeth. These drinks add several layers of sugars on to the teeth, a continuous build-up of these sugars creates plaque, which is a layer of bacteria that forms on the crown of the tooth and along the gum line. These layers leave the tooth with an unsightly yellow-brown colour and require treatment from the dentist to be removed, if this is left untreated for too long this will cause gum disease.
The most effective action that can be taken to prevent this damage is to stop drinking fizzy drinks all together and to substitute them for other drinks. Some alternatives to soft drinks are fresh fruit juices, which are also sugary but not nearly as sugary as fizzy drinks, milk which contains calcium to strengthen the bones and finally water. Energy drinks should be avoided at all times as they contain significantly more sugar than fizzy drinks (Staff,
The ph of a solution is defined as the hydrogen ion, H+, concentration of said solution (ThoughtCo, 2017). The ph scale ranges from 0-14. Ph 7 being a neutral ph, every ph above being classed as alkali and every ph before being classed as acidic. The mouth has a neutral ph that varies slightly from 6.5-7.5. This ph is maintained by buffers in the mouth, particularly in saliva. Buffers are solutions made up of either a weak acid and its salt or a weak base and its salt. They are used to resist the ph change in a solution when small amounts of acids or bases are added. …show more content…
The sugars in soft drinks are different in comparison to sugars in breads or pastas as these sugars do not break down in the mouth.
Another damaging factor is how soft drinks cause staining of the teeth. These drinks add several layers of sugars on to the teeth, a continuous build-up of these sugars creates plaque, which is a layer of bacteria that forms on the crown of the tooth and along the gum line. These layers leave the tooth with an unsightly yellow-brown colour and require treatment from the dentist to be removed, if this is left untreated for too long this will cause gum disease.
The most effective action that can be taken to prevent this damage is to stop drinking fizzy drinks all together and to substitute them for other drinks. Some alternatives to soft drinks are fresh fruit juices, which are also sugary but not nearly as sugary as fizzy drinks, milk which contains calcium to strengthen the bones and finally water. Energy drinks should be avoided at all times as they contain significantly more sugar than fizzy drinks (Staff,