Most of us already know that soda is bad for our teeth. But do you know exactly how bad? Tom Scott of Things You Might Not Know teamed up with young YouTuber Chase Wiley (of ScienceC) to see how fast Mountain Dew and Coke rots teeth.
Scott said that Chase had sent him the best pitch he had ever received: “Hi Tom, I’ve got 2 of my sister’s teeth dissolving in soda.” Here’s how he conducted his experiment.
Chase confessed that he loves Mountain Dew, but that didn’t stop him from starting an investigation on its effects on teeth.
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He soaked two of his sister’s molars in soda for three weeks, and compared the effects
Chase found that the Mountain Dew tooth lost 14% of its mass, while the tooth soaked in Coca-Cola lost just 7% of its mass (though it ended up significantly stained).
Mountain Dew has a pH of 3.1 while Coca-Cola has a pH of 2.4—if you forgot your basic chemistry, that means that Coke is more acidic. You’d think that Coke would do more damage, but the results revealed that Mountain Dew is, in fact, worse for your teeth. How? Watch the video below to see Chase’s explanation:
Is diet better?
Because diet soda doesn’t have sugar, plenty of people think that it’s better for teeth. But actually, sugar-free isn’t much better, because diet soda often contains more acid than their regular counterparts.
Cola uses phosphoric acid, while citric acid is found in citrus-flavoured drinks. While phosphoric acid is stronger, citric acid tends to be more damaging over the long run.
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What you can do to avoid tooth decay from soda
DO Drink your soda through a straw if you want to avoid cavities.
DON’T Don’t brush your teeth right after drinking an acidic beverage, because you’re actually scrubbing the acid into your tooth enamel. Wait a while or rinse your mouth with water before brushing.
Alternative drinks
The best way to avoid acid is to drink pure water. But there are other soft drinks that are not as harmful to your teeth.
Root beer, for example, is usually less acidic than other soft drinks because it doesn’t usually contain phosphoric or citric acid. Fruit juice, though acidic, is still less damaging than sodas.
Whatever you drink, it’s best to consume in moderation, and drink plenty of water.
