Sodas or soft drinks captured the beverage market in the late 19th century and are still the people’s most loved drinks. A recent spike in soda consumption was seen during the COVID-19 lockdown when people were confined to homes and had nothing much to do. Children and adults started drinking more sodas, and a rise in dental problems was seen during and after this period.
In this blog, I will explain why soda is bad for your teeth and what ingredients are addictive and damaging to the teeth.
What is a soda?
Sodas, also known as fizzy and soft drinks, are non-alcoholic carbonated drinks that contain natural or artificial flavors. The carbonated water (carbon dissolved CO2) added to them gives the beverage effervescence, making it more palatable and visually attractive.
Coke, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper were introduced in the late 19th century in the United States (US). Coke is still the most loved soda in America, followed by Pepsi and Dr pepper. Coke is ahead of two other competitors by a significant margin. According to a CNN report quoting Beverage Digest’s data, Coke captured 19.2% of the soda market in the US in 2023, followed by Dr Pepper and Pepsi at 8.3%, sprite at 8.1, and Diet Coke at 7.8.
What is cola, and why is it named coca cola?
Coca-Cola is a non-alcoholic soft drink owned by a multibillionaire corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1886, Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist based in Atlanta, Georgia, developed Coca-Cola, which gained popularity among folks because of its medicinal properties. Dr. John had a morphine addiction and wanted to create a morphine-free alternative. So, he added coca leaves, a derivative of cocaine, to cola. At that time, cocaine was legal and a common ingredient in medicines. Therefore, people started drinking cola, assuming it was safe to use cocaine in small quantities.
The Coca-Cola took its name from the two ingredients used in its original formula: coca leaves, a derivative of cocaine, and cola plant, which contains caffeine. Initially, coca cola contained 9mg of cocaine, which was later reduced. In 1904, active coca leaves were replaced by decocanized coca extract (inactive coca leaves) that contains trace amounts of cocaine.
how much of the american population is addicted to sweetened drinks?
According to the National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Supplement (NHIS CCS), 2010- 2015, 63% of adults aged 18 or older consume at least one sugar-sweetened beverage daily. It includes regular soda, sweetened fruit drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened coffee/tea drinks.
In the 2011-2014 survey, 63% of youth and 49% of adults drank a sugar-sweetened beverage daily.
In a 2013-2014 survey, 60% of American children consume a regular soda. Significant differences are seen among youth of different races in soda consumption. For instance, black and Hispanic youth drink more soft drinks, energy drinks, and sports drinks than white and Asian mates.
Half of American adults drink at least one drink per day; men (53%) are more addicted to two or more sweetened beverages a day than women (45%). The high prevalence of metabolic diseases as a consequence of excessive soda consumption costs the nation billions of dollars each year.
How much does an average American drink, and its impact on their health?
An average American consumes 5 cans of soda or sugar beverages in a week, which is equivalent to 7 cups and is 7 times more than the amount recommended by the American Heart Association.
A 20-ounce bottle (2.5 cups) of soda contains 17 teaspoons of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends limiting sugar consumption to 36 ounces (4.5 cups) of sugary beverages weekly. Ensure not to exceed the amount recommended by AHA, as the death risk from heart disease increases to 31% in habitual drinkers drinking two or more sugary beverages a day. The death risk increases exponentially by 10% with every additional drink.
Excessive soda consumption leads to metabolic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. It decreases quality of life and costs the nation billions of dollars each year.
In 2012, excessive sugary drink consumption caused the death of 51,694 Americans and accounted for 7.4% of all deaths from cardiac arrest, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Is soda bad for your teeth?
Soda is the worst thing you can do to your teeth. One, it’s a high-calorie drink with no vitamins and minerals; second, it contains phosphoric acid that pulls calcium out of (demineralizes) your teeth and bones; third, it contains caffeine, which makes you addicted to it; and fourth, cola drinks adhere more strongly to tooth enamel than saliva and are less likely to be removed by it.
The pH of most carbonated drinks is lower (2.2-4) than the critical pH for the demineralization of the enamel (5.5), and therefore, frequent soda consumption erodes the tooth enamel. The bacteria adhere more to the rough eroded enamel than the smooth polished tooth surface, increasing the chances of tooth decay.
Lastly, the soda consumption reduces the daily milk intake in kids, which is required for bone and teeth development. Drinking soda with food decreases the nutrient absorption from foods. These children are often malnourished and suffer from vitamin A, folate, vitamin B12, calcium, and magnesium deficiency.
What does Caffeine in cola do?
One can of cola contains the same caffeine as a strong cup of coffee. Eleanor McBean, in his book The poisioned needle: Suppressed facts about vaccination, says that caffeine is addictive, and frequent intake of caffeine damages your stomach, eyes, nerves, and kidneys. It makes children nervous, irritable, and high-strung and leads to a desire for more potent drinks later on.
Dr. Royal Lee of the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research says Cola is loaded with habit-forming caffeine so that once the victim gets accustomed to the stimulant, he can’t get along very well without it.
In 1911, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, former director of the Food and Drug Administration, known as “father of the pure food and drug act”, brought a famous class action againt The Coca Cola company. He claimed that the reason for adding caffeine to a Coca-cola is to make it habit-forming and it’s illegal to to use it as addictive.
How does cola affect your teeth?
In the light of a few lab experiments, the following can happen to your teeth if you consume cola for a prolonged period.
- In a lab experiment, 32 enamel blocks were exposed to cola for 5, 10, and 30 minutes for seven days. The result revealed that all the blocks showed a loss of minerals from enamel, and the mineral loss increased as the exposure time increased for all the three groups. So, the more you drink the more damage to the teeth you’ll get.
- In an experiment, swishing of coca-cola for 60 seconds in the mouth resulted loss of calcium from the teeth.
- In another study, cola given to rats resulted in significant enamel destruction within 5-7 days, which proceeded slowly afterward. Consumption of a sugar beverage alone didn’t affect the teeth in 5-7 days. Adding sodium-fluoride (1-20 ppm) to an acidic drink offered some protection from acid damage; however, it didn’t prevent it entirely.
- In the study, Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny, professor of restorative dentistry at the Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, says that meth, crack cocaine, and fizzy drinks, whether sweetened or not, are all highly acidic and addictive and can lead to generalized teeth erosion and tooth decay.
What does soda contain that makes it bad for your teeth?
Most soft drinks, regular or diet, contain many contents harmful to the teeth, such as fructose corn syrup, additive dye, acid, and caffeine. A 20-ounce bottle (2.5 cups) roughly contains 17 tsp of sugar. The bacteria in dental plaque converts it to acid that causes demineralization of enamel.
Phosphoric acid, citric acid, and malic acid are added to the drinks to give a tangy taste, reduce bacterial and fungal growth, and increase the drink’s shelf life. The acid also balances the beverage’s sweetness and makes it more palatable and desirable.
The acids in the drinks reduce the pH of the saliva to less than five within 2-3 minutes. The mouth has a pH of 6.3-7.2, which is critical for the health of teeth and gums. The critical pH at which hydroxyapatite crystals (enamel) dissolve is 5.5. Most soft drinks have a pH between 2.2-2.5 and frequent drinking erodes the enamel. The acidiogenic bacteria also decrease the pH of plaque to 4 by converting sugar to organic acids. The demineralized and eroded enamel allows greater bacterial adherence to the tooth and makes it vulnerable to tooth decay.
Moreover, it takes 25 minutes for the saliva to neutralize the acid and bring the pH back to normal. Phosphoric acid is the most harmful substance in colas. It is the destroyer of calcium in the body. It is produced by treating phosphate rock with sulphuric acid. Restarski stated that cola contains 0.055% phosphoric acid by weight to have a pH of 2.6, which is 100 times more acid that will decalcify enamel at standard conditions.
The addition of critic acid is detrimental to the teeth because of its binding to calcium ions in the teeth. Citric acid works as a double-edged sword by releasing hydrogen and citrate ions. Hydrogen ions attack the hydroxyapatite crystals and break them apart, while citrate ions have an affinity for calcium ions in the enamel.
Malic is added to iced tea, sports drinks, and fruit juices to intensify the flavors.
What happens to you teeth if you drink cola everyday
A 25-year-old male banker developed severe erosions in the front teeth despite brushing his teeth every morning. He had been drinking cola for more than 7 years. He began drinking 1-1.5L cola a day when he was under extreme workload for 4-5 months. He also holds cola in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing.
Persistent drinking resulted in enamel erosion near the gums with black discoloration (see the picture below). The habit of holding the drink in the mouth led to a rapid reduction in salivary pH that further aggravated damage to the enamel.
Such damage can happen after consuming cola for a prolonged period. The high caffeine content in cola makes you feel high and is addictive. Therefore, a lot of people start drinking it when they are under a lot of stress.
Conclusion
Coke, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper were introduced in the late 19th century in the United States (US). Coke is still the most loved soda in America, followed by Pepsi and Dr pepper.
Caffeine and high sugar in soda make you feel high and are addictive. That’s why people of all ages enjoy it, and the parties and gatherings are never complete without soda.
Phosphoric acid, citric acid, and malic acid in soda cause tooth demineralization. Prolonged drinking makes bones and teeth brittle and prone to tooth decay and other metabolic disorders.