Think diet soft drinks are good for you? Think again

Australians may be harming their teeth in an effort to shrink their waistlines by slurping on diet soft drinks.
On Thursday, Melbourne University’s Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre released a briefing paper warning that many Australians were unaware that chemicals in artificially sweetened drinks cause tooth erosion.
“Consumers should be aware that many sugar-free products are potentially harmful to teeth due to their chemical composition,” the report said.

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“Many people are not aware that while reducing your sugar intake does reduce your risk of dental decay, the chemical mix of acids in some foods and drinks can cause the equally damaging condition of dental erosion,” Professor Eric Reynolds told AAP.
“It really appears it’s becoming a bigger problem and that we are seeing more sugar-free products.”
The briefing paper was founded on previous scientific studies. For example, an Australian study from 2009 tested the erosive potential of 15 drinks commonly sold in school canteens – 12 sugared and three sugar-free.
The researchers poured the drinks over human teeth and then analysed the damage. It found no difference between the harmful potential of the sugar-free drinks and the sugared drinks.
Another study published in 2009 agreed that sugar-free soft drinks can be just as erosive as sugar-containing soft drinks.
A spokesman for the Australian Dental Association said many consumers might be under the misapprehension they were protecting their teeth by switching to sugar-free drinks.
“I think many people for various reasons would be going to no-sugar, artificially sweetened drinks because of general health, but also sometimes the message about sugar and decay is becoming better known and so they probably think they’re helping that,” Associate Professor Neil Hewson told The New Daily.

How the damage is caused

Diet soft drinks contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and, more recently, stevia.
These sweeteners are acidic and may erode tooth enamel by dissolving the hard tissues of the teeth. The acid can strip away the protective layer of enamel, which is the visible part of our teeth.
Once the enamel is weakened, the acid can then attack the deeper dentine layers and even reach the tooth pulp, requiring fillings, crowns and other expensive treatments.

Ree More