What’s up with different acidity of different beverages out there?

This is a great question because there is so much out there that the public generally does not know about. The acidity in beverages can lead to erosion which is basically the dissolution of tooth structure without any involvement of bacteria. While the acidity is an issue the ability of the mouth to neutralize the acidity is what really determines the erosive potential of the drinks. For reference, neutral is measured at pH 7.0, the lower the number the more acidic it is.

So, even though Cola drinks may have the highest acidity (in the range of pH 2.5), they are relatively easy for the mouth to neutralize and therefore have a medium erosive potential. Orange juice (pH of 3.8), apple juice (pH of 3.2) and grapefruit juice (pH of 3.2) are less acidic that cola, yet they are much harder for the mouth to neutralize. Grapefruit juice is twice as hard to neutralize compared to the other juices and is over 13 times harder to neutralize than cola drinks. All these juices have high erosion potentials with grapefruit juice being the worst on the market that we know of.

Red Bull (pH of 3.32) and Gatorade (pH of 2.95) are harder to neutralize than the cola drinks and can range to 3 to 11 times more erosive than cola according to a recent article in the Journal of the California Dental Association. And unless you are drinking Gatorade while exercising at a high level studies have proved it has no advantage over water. (While exercising the advantage is it tastes better than water so you might actually drink more of it)

But it doesn’t stop here. If you are eating hard food while consuming these beverages (like nuts, hard grains, etc.) you can increase the amount of erosion.

What are some of the tips to prevent erosion. Gulping it down, drinking it faster helps. Swishing these drinks around your mouth makes it harder to neutralize and creates more erosion. And here is the biggest tip of them all. You should NOT brush your teeth for 30 minutes after drinking these acidic beverages. Your teeth are more susceptible to mechanical abrasion during these erosive periods.