Does sparkling water hurt your teeth? What a New Study Says

Jit is common knowledge that soft drinks, especially those with gas, can harm the enamel of the teeth, not only due to the high levels of sugar they contain, with also due to its acidity. 

What about the sparkling water? Does it harm dental health?

A new study by the American Nutrition Society sought to answer this question. 

How water with phas affects your teeth

The soft drinks damage the enamel of the teeth because they drastically alter the pH of the mouth, notes an article by Real Simple that presents the study. 

When the pH of the mouth is below 5.5, the enamel begins to dissolve. The same is true of gas water, but its effects are much less harmful.

“ A lot of people are trading sodas for sparkling water. Our findings suggest that sugar-free water may be a less risky alternative to soft drinks when consumed in moderation and combined with good oral hygiene practices,” explains Wajiha Zulfiqar, a nutrition student at Purdue University, who presented the research.

In order to understand how gas water harmed dental enamel, investigators gave 20 adults the opportunity to drink a common soft drink, sparkling water, gas-rich water with calcium and gas-free water. 

Each participant consumed these four drinks. Then the investigators measured the effect on saliva pH. They found that the common soft drink produced the highest acidity in the mouth compared to the samples of gas water and gasless water.

Both ordinary gas water and calcium enriched water caused a temporary drop in saliva pH. However, pH returned to normal in 20 minutes for both types of sparkling water. Although frequency of consumption, exposure time and sugar content are factors that influence the effects of water with gas, dental erosion seemed significantly lower than that observed with traditional soft drinks.

It is therefore concluded that drinking water with sugar-free gas is a much healthier alternative for those who want to reduce the consumption of soft drink. 

“ Our results suggest that replacing soft drinks with sugar with sugar-free water can help reduce the risk of erosion of dental enamel,” Zulfiqar said.

“ The results also highlight an opportunity for the beverage industry to explore reformulation strategies that can reduce the erosive potential of acid drinks ", complete.