Comments on: Sugar, acid and teeth

By: Andy Kaiser

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:03:50 +0000

Brett,

The equation was developed by my writing partner referenced at the beginning of the article - Dr. Diane Johnson. As you allude, it's a complex equation, and I didn't feel justified myself coming up with something arbitrary. So she did it. :)

Feel free to develop your own formula if you think ours is off - the data is there for anyone to use!

Thanks,

Andy

By: Sheila

Sheila — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:17:47 +0000

Thank you for this valuable information! It provided great support for my son’s science project (does sugar have a correlation with pH in sodas)..and I guess it “depends what type of sugar”. Very enlightening and fun to read!

By: Brett Shkopich

Brett Shkopich — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:00:59 +0000

Hi,
i’m curious as to how you arrived at your equation for “badness” of the certain type of drink? From what i can tell you are giving equal weight to both acidity of the drink and the amount of sugar within it. From my experience as a dental student i don’t believe that the initial acidity of the drink would contribute much to the “badness” of the liquid. This is because the liquid will be very quickly rinsed from the mouth (within a minute or two unless you sit there swishing) and its initial acidity won’t play much of a factor in the caries process. The sugar content however, tends to leave the mouth filled with fermentable carbs that the acidogenic bacteria love. Thus the bacteria will create a prolonged acidic pH in the mouth and contribute a lot more to the cariogenicity of the liquid. You may want to develop a ratio that puts acidity at a much lower contribution factor than sugar (something like a 1:5 for acid:sugar). of course some research would need to be done and my guess of the ratio may be completely off.
Otherwise great article
Brett

By: Andy Kaiser

Andy Kaiser — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:51:18 +0000

Wise Man,

>Stronger alcoholic drinks, not mentioned in here, are far worse than your teeth than sodapop or juice is.

I actually *did* mention stronger alcoholic drinks, though just a couple. However, where are you getting the idea they’re “far worse for your teeth” than the other listed drinks? If it’s not the sugar or acidity, what in particular is bad about the alcohol? In fact, I’d argue that the really strong stuff is better for your teeth – the alcohol kills bacteria. Like using a mouthwash with perks. :)

Anyway, I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that it doesn’t sound right to me, so please follow up with more information on why alcohol in particular is bad for your teeth – I worked with an orthodontist on this article, and the experiences in her practice (as to what people with tooth decay drink the most) do not match your hypothesis.

Andy

By: Wise Man

Wise Man — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:32:41 +0000

Stronger alcoholic drinks, not mentioned in here, are far worse than your teeth than sodapop or juice is. Most spirits and even some wines, beers, and “alcopop” drinks can be extremely damaging. Let’s look at it this way, someone who drinks an average of 60 ounces of pop or juice a day is going to have less tooth damage than someone who drinks an average of 30 oz of a strong alcoholic drink per day. Usually people who drink pop have somewhat yellow teeth, cavities, even some missing teeth. Alcoholics usually have rotting, yellow to brown teeth, at least of what they have left, by comparison. Not teling you abstain from alcohol, but you forgot to factor in alcoholic content in your test.

By: Bob Allen

Bob Allen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:59:53 +0000

Hay David,

Stop worrying – just immediately follow the Vernors with a floride rinse chaser!

Bob

By: David Annis

David Annis — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:56:46 +0000

I have a weakness for Vernors, so I indulge. I try to rinse with a fluoride rinse soon after. I wonder how much difference the time between consumption and rinsing make.

David

By: Scott Dalrymple

Scott Dalrymple — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:39:13 +0000

Great episode Andy! Keep up the great work!

By: DB Skeptic

DB Skeptic — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:15:07 +0000

Frank,

Really great episode Andy, thanks.

You’re welcome – thanks for the compliment and the support. It’s rare I get either, so always good to know I’m doing something right.

Andy

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:47:26 +0000

Really great episode Andy, thanks.

By: DB Skeptic

DB Skeptic — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Aiden,

Just a quick correction though

Correction made.

Andy

By: Aiden

Aiden — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:41:39 +0000

Cool. Just a quick correction though, for the sake of completeness, this test was on “lo-carb” Monster, not the regular kind. The regular Monster has much more sugar, whereas the “lo-carb” uses Splenda.

By: DB Skeptic

DB Skeptic — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:36:37 +0000

Aiden,

Monster Energy Drink information added – for both the summary photo and the XLS document. Thanks for the extra data!

Andy

By: Aiden

Aiden — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:40:34 +0000

Give me a pH, sugar content in grams per container, container size in ounces

pH = 3.5
sugar content = 6g per 16 fl.oz. container

In case it makes a difference, I should probably also note that the serving size is 8 fl.oz., so each can of Monster is actually 2 servings.

By: Anthony O'Neal

Anthony O'Neal — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:35:21 +0000

(which, if you drink a lot, has a lot of bad side effects that people don’t know about)

Where’d you get this source? I know there are a lot of untrue conspiracy theories about apartame (causing ADHD, etc, completely absurd things that have no evidence to back them up). I hope that’s not what you’re referencing.

By: DB Skeptic

DB Skeptic — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:20:51 +0000

Thanks, Aiden. Give me a pH, sugar content in grams per container, container size in ounces, and I’ll add your findings to my spreadsheet.

By: Aiden

Aiden — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:16:59 +0000

Thanks, Andy. I already have a ready supply of water/liquid test strips, a full kit actually as I’m an avid aquarist. I’ll post my results once I’ve performed this test.

By: Humanity Blues

Humanity Blues — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:09:50 +0000

I would also like to add, bottled water is a huge waste of money. I’ll stick to the tap.

By: DB Skeptic

DB Skeptic — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:31:48 +0000

Aiden,

I guess I’ll have to use your method of testing and see how my lo-carb Monster holds up.

Sorry I missed your favorite! However, if you can get a hold on some pH test strips, they’re very cheap (I linked above to the site I purchased from, but they sell them in lower quantity for cheaper). Then measure the sugar on the can of your beverage of choice. Measure the pH. Download the XLS file with all my raw data. Plug in your numbers, and the document will auto-calculate the rating for that particular drink.

Dr. Johnson and I did the hard work already. If you can get pH strips, the rest is really easy.

Andy

By: Aiden

Aiden — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:03:30 +0000

Rob,

It would largely depend on where the Dasani water comes from. Some water is just naturally acidic and has to be treated in order to achieve and maintain a neutral pH of 7.0 (ask any aquarist), so it may be that Dasani just isn’t being properly treated, perhaps in order to be considered more “natural”.

By: Rob Steenwyk

Rob Steenwyk — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:53:51 +0000

The Dasani really surprises me as well. Any speculation on what they add to the water that is causing the acidity? I wouldn’t think it would be due to longevity… I’ve never seen a glass of water go bad.

Very interesting post, pretty pissed to see cranberry juice 2nd from worst, as I love cranberry juice!

By: Aiden

Aiden — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:20:21 +0000

I’m surprise that you didn’t include Monster energy drinks. Surprise isn’t the right word, maybe disappointed, as it’s my drink of choice as I typically consume (never more than) one per day. Some might point to your use of Red Bull as the cover that for energy drinks, but with all the different varieties available from Monster alone, it’s hard to say how analogous they are.

I guess I’ll have to use your method of testing and see how my lo-carb Monster holds up.

By: DB Skeptic

DB Skeptic — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:34:54 +0000

What shocked me was the Dasani water. That is insane.

Agreed. Per Dr. Johnson’s danger threshold of 5.5 pH and below, if you swish that WATER around your mouth long enough, you’ll actually damage your teeth! Granted, I don’t think it’ll be much damage, compared to something more acidic, but still, yes, it’s surprising.

Perhaps it needs to be acidic in order to maintain sterility for safe drinking?

By: Humanity Blues

Humanity Blues — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:28:10 +0000

I just gave up diet soda (which, if you drink a lot, has a lot of bad side effects that people don’t know about) and don’t drink that much juice. What shocked me was the Dasani water. That is insane.

By: Bob Allen

Bob Allen — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:42:27 +0000

Great article. I love Grape juice also – but am a diabetic, thus mix just a tad with Diet 7-up. I use Welch grape juice. By the by, Welch Black Cherry and Grape is very strong – even at a 1:8 mixture with Diet 7-Up.

I love the method of the research. The high standards are what we need.

Thanks.