Sports Drinks Linked to Enamel Erosion

Professional and amateur athletes are encouraged to consult their dentist about the acidity of their sports drinks.

Australian sports dentist Dr Brett Dorney has said that an increasing number of sportsmen and women have suffered tooth damage through enamel erosion because of ingredients in acidic sports drinks.

After Dr Dorney acted as the Sydney Olympics' deputy director of dental services in 2004, he discovered a dramatic increase in the cases of tooth erosion in top athletes which he linked to their consumption of acidic drinks.

There were widespread cases of enamel erosion and a large number of athletes had decayed teeth, which was unusual for top sports stars who normally take great physical care of themselves.

Dental decay happened to the athletes because regular consumption of sports drinks allowed the build up of acid resistant bacteria on the surface of their teeth but Dr Dorney claimed he is not encouraging people to stop consuming the drinks.

People who are concerned about the potential dangers of such drinks should consult their local dentist as they will have the professional expertise and knowledge about harmful ingredients they may include.

Dr Dorney said that people should be told which drinks can cause tooth decay as this will help inform their decision when purchasing drinks in a bit to improve their sporting performance.

He said: "I think modern dentistry is about education - you must give people the information so that they can make choices [about] dental health and what dental risk they are going to be at.

"[Tooth erosion] is multi-factorial, it depends on whether the person is dehydrated, it also depends on the sport they are playing, the intensity of the sport, whether they have had sufficient fluid before they started playing."

There are a number of ways people can decrease the damage sports drinks may have on their smile and the main method to achieve this is to reduce the amount of contact the fluid has with teeth.

Squirting a drink directly into the back of the mouth and rinsing it with water will help reduce tooth decay as will not wearing a mouth guard when drinking because this holds the drink against teeth.

Meanwhile, a Saving Teeth Awareness Campaign is underway which aims to provide information to people who have infected teeth that could lead to tooth loss as many patients are unaware that teeth can be saved through root canal therapy.


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