Is Sparkling Water Bad for Your Teeth?

There is often a lot of misinformation perpetuated around dental health. However, much of the world understands the fundamentals needed to take care of your teeth—ensure you’re brushing with fluoridated toothpaste after each meal, floss often, visit your dentist regularly, limit your consumption of alcoholic and high-sugar beverages, and abstain from the use of tobacco products.

Many of us understand that abstaining from sugar is important to healthy teeth and gums—dental work can be costly and painful. But what if you want to drink something that has no sugar, yet is more flavorful than plain water? In their research, the American Dental Association (ADA) found that there aren’t many options beyond plain water that contributed to  healthy teeth:

“Most (93%, 354 of 379) beverages had a pH of less than 4.0, and 7% (25 of 379) had a pH of 4.0 or more. Relative beverage erosivity zones based on studies of apatite solubility in acid indicated that 39% (149 of 379) of the beverages tested in this study were considered extremely erosive (pH < 3.0), 54% (205 of 379) were considered erosive (pH 3.0 to 3.99), and 7% (25 of 379) were considered minimally erosive (pH ≥ 4.0).”

So how does ADA view sparkling water’s impact on your teeth?

How Does Sparkling Water Compare to Sugary Drinks?

There are two factors everyone should consider when understanding the relationship between what they drink and its effect on their dental health – acidity and sugar content. These two components are often innocuous components to your daily diet yet they can have a considerable impact on your teeth. Unfortunately, your favorite soda is packed full of both.

Carbonation & Acidity

Sodas are highly carbonated beverages. A lot of us have grown to love that fizzy sensation on our tongues. However, it comes at a cost to our dental health. Highly carbonated sodas are extremely acidic. Because of their erosive qualities, highly acidic beverages will wear away at your tooth enamel, often without you even knowing it.

Unfortunately, your tooth enamel is a finite resource. Once eroded, it’s not coming back. Acidic beverages like soda do a number on our tooth enamel if left unchecked. Once your enamel erosion reaches a certain threshold, you might notice markedly increased tooth sensitivity. If you let that erosion continue, you can suffer from tooth decay, tooth loss, and even gum disease because enamel serves as the protective barrier between your teeth and bacteria.

The Impact of Sugar on Teeth

The other factor in the relationship between beverages and dental health is sugar content. We’ve all grown up with the understanding that too much sugar is bad for your teeth. But what does sugar do to your mouth, exactly?

It’s not the sugar that directly wreaks havoc on your teeth, it’s the bacteria that feed off of the sugars in your mouth. Our mouths are a breeding ground for bacteria. Our body produces saliva as a means to stabilize the balance between harmful and neutral bacteria. It does a commendable job unless we give the bad bacteria the sugar they need to flourish. And when that bacteria are well fed, they produce acidic waste that our saliva can’t keep up with. After a while, our mouths become too acidic, which wears away at our enamel. Sugary sodas aren’t just acidic by themselves, they even make your saliva acidic! Sparkling water with zero sugar is the better option as it does not feed these bacteria.

Is Carbonated Water Bad for Your Teeth?

You might think that all carbonation is bad. However, there are degrees of carbonation, some of which have a minimal impact on your tooth enamel. When measuring the impact on your teeth, scientists refer to a beverage’s pH. A beverage with a pH under 3.0 is considered to be highly acidic and extremely erosive to your tooth enamel. If a beverage has a pH of above 4.0, it’s acidity is minimal and easy on your enamel. Most sodas fall under 3.0. Worst yet, things like orange juice or lemonade are even more acidic than soda and should be consumed sparingly.

Crystal Geyser is the Perfect Zero-Sugar, Lower Acidity Sparkling Water

Our sparkling water, bottled in the Napa Valley region of California, isn’t just zero-sugar; it’s lower acidity. Our bottled water analysis reports a pH of 5.4 for our spring water and a pH range of 5.8 to 6.0 for our mineral water. Both levels are above what the ADA deems as erosive to tooth enamel.

At Crystal Geyser, we also pride ourselves on creating a flavorful sparkling beverage that’s crisp and refreshing. With zero sugar and lower acidity, our sparkling water is a tooth-friendly beverage that you can enjoy any time with zero remorse.

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