Energy drinks such as Red Bull and others can be very harmful to your teeth. The high amounts of sugar and acid in these drinks can erode your enamel, leading to cavities and gum disease. The best way to reduce their bad side effects is to simply drink less of them.
Energy drinks like Red Bull are acidic and packed with sugar, both of which erode your enamel. Sugar-free options aren’t automatically better since they’re still very acidic. Rinse your mouth with water after consuming energy drinks, or drink them while you’re eating, to limit negative effects.
Many people will drink sugar-free energy drinks to be more healthy. However, they can be just as damaging to your teeth as energy drinks with sugar are. The high amount of acid found in sugar-free energy drinks is enough to break down your tooth’s enamel by itself.
What’s Inside Energy Drinks?
While energy drinks can surely be refreshing and might even boost your energy, it’s important to understand that they contain high amounts of sugar and acid. Energy drinks have gathered a rather grim reputation when it comes to oral health.
The main substance found in energy drinks is caffeine, which is what helps give you that energy boost. Apart from caffeine, energy drinks consist of taurine, which consists of amino acids, sugar, and guarana.
This is where the problem begins. The high sugar and acid levels in energy drinks are what lead to tooth decay.
The sugars react with the bacteria in your mouth to produce harmful acids. The acids present in energy drinks worsen this. These acids then harm the enamel of your teeth, causing it to break down.
Enamel deterioration is serious and cannot be undone. Once the enamel breaks down, it leaves your teeth vulnerable. Cavities can form easily, and your teeth can become brittle or develop gum infections. Over time, these effects can lead to tooth decay which can be very serious for your oral health.
It’s best to consume energy drinks in moderation. You should also practice regular oral hygiene by brushing and flossing your teeth. Rinsing your mouth regularly with tap water is also a great way to flush out sugars or plaque left in your mouth after having an energy drink.
How Energy Drinks Damage Your Teeth
While energy drinks contain taurine, caffeine, guarana, and sugars, it’s the sugars that damage your teeth the most.
The sugars in energy drinks interact with the bacteria in your mouth. This reaction then forms acids which start to break down your teeth. These attacks are directed towards the enamel of your teeth, which will start to deteriorate if you continue to drink energy drinks.
With each sip, your teeth are bathed in an energy drink which is full of sugars. That’s a lot of contact between the enamel of your teeth and the highly sugary and acidic nature of energy drinks.
Also, the slower you drink, the more time you give for the energy drink to stay in contact with your teeth, and the worse it gets.
Regular consumption can deteriorate your enamel which leaves your teeth open and vulnerable. Foreign food particles, sugars, and acids can then hurt your teeth. Enamel deterioration is also irreversible.
These damages can amount to cavities, tooth sensitivity, brittle teeth, staining, gum infections, and overall tooth decay. In severe cases, they can even break your teeth, which will result in a need for extraction.
To prevent this from happening try to minimize how often you consume energy drinks. Drinking through a straw is another way of minimizing these harmful effects because it prevents the enamel from touching the drink.
You can also try pairing it with food, because it will help neutralize the acidic nature of the energy drink.
What About Sugar-Free Energy Drinks?
Many people tend to think that sugar-free energy drinks are better for your teeth since there is little to no sugar. However, contrary to popular belief, sugar-free energy drinks can be just as bad for your oral health.
The high levels of acid in sugar-free energy drinks make them just as bad for your teeth. These acids combine with the bacteria in your mouth and end up forming even more harmful acids which attack and destroy the enamel of your teeth.
While sugar free drinks might save you from consuming sugars, it certainly contains a high amount of acids.
Most sugar-free energy drinks also tend to contain phosphoric acid which harms your teeth and is also found in regular energy drinks. On top of that, sugar-free energy drinks can also contain tartaric acid and citric acid, both of which are highly acidic and can harm your tooth’s enamel.
If you’re considering switching to sugar-free energy drinks for the sole reason of improving your oral health, please rethink. It would be better to limit your overall consumption of them in general.
You can also try a few other tips and tricks to minimize the harmful effects of energy drinks. Rinse your mouth with tap water after drinking an energy drink or time it with a meal. This will help remove plaque and flush out anything else which could have been damaging your teeth.
