Root beer products (that are not artificially carbonated) may be safer for your teeth than other soft drinks, according to the Academy of General Dentistry.  It's time to rethink what you drink.

Acids dissolve away your enamel.  The body's natural saliva is able to remineralize the lost calcium to a limited extent, but only so much.  If we lose enamel to acid faster than it can be replaced, we permanently lose the enamel through a process called erosion.

I've always told patients that colas are the most damaging drinks to your teeth, because of the combination of sugar, carbonic acid from carbonation, and phosphoric acid for flavor.  It turns out that non-colas are actually more acidic because of the high concentrations of citric acid.  It's also known as ascorbic acid, citrate, ascorbate, and most popularly Vitamin C.  What's good for you in your body in food and vitamin tablet ford, citric acid apparently erodes enamel even faster than the acids in colas.

Here's some suggestions on how to minimize acid erosion to your teeth:

1. Drink through a straw
2. Drink water or milk instead
3. If you have dry mouth, avoid sodas all together
4. Have your soft drinks during the course of meals, never in between meals
5. Chew Trident White, which contains Recaldent aka ACP (amorphous calcium phosphate) to help remineralize your enamel

Read the original press release from AGD.

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