As the popular saying goes, health is wealth. And this is just a hint at how important good health is to a person’s well-being and everyday life. Your general health is critical, and it significantly affects whatever activity you choose to engage in. The importance of staying healthy can never be overemphasized, and the best way to always maintain good health is by sticking to healthy practices consistently. There are many parts of the human body, and you must make deliberate efforts to keep each part functioning well before you can truly say you are healthy.
Note that a flaw in the function of certain parts of the human body system can negatively affect other parts, thereby reducing your chances of living a healthy life. One such part is your mouth. According to family dentist Dr. Varghese, the mouth is considered to be the main opening in the body, and any deviation from perfect oral health can prove to be detrimental to the other parts of the body.
Seeing how important oral health is and how it affects your general well-being, it goes without saying that you must take extra care of your mouth if you wish to stay healthy at all times. Several factors can lead to poor oral health, including poor dieting and unhealthy oral practices. This article focuses on the connection between energy drinks and your oral health and how you can improve your oral health.
What Are Energy Drinks?
Energy drinks are consumed to improve and enhance a person’s physical performance while also helping to sharpen their minds and significantly boost their energy levels. These drinks are also known to take effect quickly and quite effectively too. But while they have been identified as a better alternative to soda, the reverse is the case for oral health.
Although sodas also tend to affect your teeth negatively, energy drinks affect oral health more quickly and more drastically because of the acidic contents present in these energy drinks. Here is how these energy drinks affect your oral health, and how much it endangers your teeth.
Effects of Energy Drinks on the Teeth
Energy drinks are highly acidic, and they also contain other ingredients that are not palatable for your teeth. Here’s a list of the dominant ingredients in energy drinks that can cause significant harm to your teeth.
- Taurine
- Caffeine
- Guarana
- Sugar
The above-listed ingredients contain elements that do not sit well with the teeth, and they cause damage to enamel when they make contact. Little by little, these elements weaken the resolve of the protective tissues in your teeth, leaving your teeth open, defenseless and more susceptible to decay.
Excess consumption of energy drinks can also cause cavities in your teeth, and this is due to the high percentage of sugar and acidic pH levels present in these energy drinks. By-products in acid and sugar are a primary target for the bacteria present in the mouth. And the bacteria are often activated when you consume energy drinks or other substances with similar contents, leading to extreme bacteria attacks on your teeth and gums. In addition to these already listed effects, it has also been discovered that people may grind their teeth in response to the hyperactivity induced by consuming energy drinks. And teeth grinding can, in turn, make the edges of your teeth break or even lead to tooth loss in extreme situations.
Regardless of the exceptional value of energy drinks and the significant boost that they give to your physical performances and your energy levels, consuming them excessively or regularly does not do well for your teeth and your general oral health. And even though these effects are not immediately visible, they cause adverse damage to your teeth, and in time, they start to become visible and a lot more dangerous.
Conclusion
Considering the detrimental and adverse effects of energy drinks on oral health, it is safe to say that they do more harm than good to your general well-being in the long run. Hence, you are advised to go for more natural alternatives that have fewer negative effects on your body system. Some natural and safer alternatives with similar functions that can substitute for energy drinks include:
- Water
- Green tea
- Smoothies
If, in any case, you must consume energy drinks, drink them along with meals and avoid brushing your teeth immediately afterward, as it may lead to more damage on the already weakened enamel. Finally, visit your dentist for dental check-ups and advice from time to time so that you can tackle any issue that may affect your oral health before it gets worse.
