How Beverages Impact Oral Health

Everywhere you go, the availability of surgery sweet beverages is in full force. From sodas to juices and energy drinks, the amount of liquid sugar you can sip on is endless. If you want a frappuccino from Starbucks, your teeth are going to pay for it. Did you know that what you drink could affect your oral health even more than the foods you eat? It’s true, the beverages that you consume can greatly impact the health of your teeth, gum, and even your breath. This is mainly due to the types of sugar in the liquids that you drink, and the fallout from the acids they produce.

At Vero VIP Implants & Periodontics, we see a ton of patients with considerable tooth decay and gingivitis, which is also known as gum or periodontal disease. So we have to look at all the habits that might be making the mouth a less than healthy place. Sugary drinks can be one of the main causes so consider changing this habit. Let’s look at exactly how beverages impact oral health, and what you can do to prevent the decline by visiting us as the best periodontist Vero Beach, Florida has to offer.

How Sugar Damages the Mouth

When sugar enters the mouth, especially in liquid form, it’s going to energize the bad bacteria in the mouth, which in turn produces more acid. That acid is eventually going to damage the teeth causing cavities that are the tooth decaying or other oral health issues, especially involving your gums.

The liquid sugar will invade every part of your mouth, including your gums, getting deep within the gum tissue. That film, without the proper dental hygiene and visits to your Vero Beach dental professional, will cause more bacteria to grow along the gum line leading to bad breath and gum disease. In some instances, the decay might need to be dealt with by procedures, such as tooth extraction and tissue grafting, to deal with a receding gum line.

Sugary beverages not only affect the gums, but you might also notice that with all that bad bacteria growth, your breath is not as fresh as it could be. Halitosis or bad breath can occur when the sugar levels in your mouth are high, containing an overabundance of bad bacteria flourishing and living off that sugar.

That’s why it’s important to practice the right dental hygiene twice a day by flossing, brushing, and rinsing the mouth with an alcohol-free mouthwash.

Drinks That Contain a Ton of Extra Sugar

The leading source of added sugar in the diet of people living in the United States is from sugar-sweetened beverages, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. They recommend that people over two-years-old only get about 10 percent of their daily calorie intake from added sugar. That means for an adult woman, it’s about 26 grams, and for adult men, it’s 36 grams.

Now, let’s look at some of the drinks that contain a lot of extra sugar. Those drinks are commonly fruit juices, smoothies, sodas, sweetened coffee beverages, energy drinks, and chocolate milk. Each of these drinks in one serving often contains more than the daily amount of sugar you should have.

For example, a can of soda or an energy drink has about 38 grams of sugar. If you think a smoothie is better, it’s not. A typical fruity drink from a popular smoothie place like Smoothie King, has a large amount of extra added sugar. Their medium size “Lemon Twist Strawberry” has 76 grams of sugar. That’s triple the amount of the recommended sugar you should have in a day.

What You Should Drink Instead

There are many different beverages you can drink instead of ones with excess sugars. Those include sparkling water, citrus-infused water, diluted juice, regular milk, or unsweetened tea. It can be difficult to change your beverage habits, but over time when you cut out extra sugars, your body won’t crave them as much.

Plus, your oral health will be much better off when you switch to non-sugary beverages on a regular basis.

Contact Vero Implants & Periodontics

If you have questions about how we can improve your oral health at Vero Implants & Periodontics, the best dentist Vero Beach has to offer, contact us today to schedule an appointment. We’d be more than happy to set you on a path to better dental health with the right tips and techniques to keep your mouth in the best shape possible.