What Is Worse for Your Teeth: Pop, Juice, Sports Drinks or Sparkling Water?

Every sip of something sugary or acidic starts what Amber-Lee calls an acid attack, and your teeth lose minerals while it lasts. Saliva needs time to settle things down. A pop finished with supper is one attack. The same pop sipped over an afternoon keeps your teeth in acid for hours.

Pop has sugar and acid together. Sugar-free pop drops the sugar, which is why Amber-Lee prefers it, but the acid is still there, so keep it to a small amount.

Juice has natural sugar and often a lot of acid, especially citrus. It is fine with a meal, and a poor choice to sip between meals.

Sports drinks and energy drinks are high in acid and usually sugar, and they are hard on enamel.

Sparkling water depends on what is in it. The American Dental Association says plain sparkling water is safe in moderation and causes only minimal erosion compared with sodas and sports drinks. Flavoured kinds with citric acid are more acidic, and sipping any of them all day adds to the risk.

Have the drink with food, finish it in one sitting, and follow it with plain water. A straw helps keep it off your front teeth. Wait a while before you brush, because enamel is softer right after acid.

If your teeth have started to look thin or see-through at the edges, or sting with cold or sweet things, have them checked. Those can be signs of enamel wear, and catching it early gives you more options.