How do sugar-free sodas relate to dental caries?
1 Answer
Very slightly, if at all. They do not prevent them, and excessive use can still enable them, but not as much as sugared products.
Explanation:
First, you must understand what causes dental caries (cavities). Caries are the result of tooth enamel dissolution by acidic by-products of bacterial metabolism. Food particles remaining on tooth surfaces are fed upon by the bacteria normally present. Failure to remove the food source, the bacteria or the acidic products periodically allows the acids to erode the tooth enamel.
Sugar is often vilified as a caries promoter, but that is more a reflection on excessive use of refined sugar in many products than the compound itself. ANY food material left on the teeth will provide a source for the bacterial acid production. That is why it is very important to floss and brush the teeth periodically (optimum timings may be disputed) to remove food residues and reduce the amount of potential acid formation.
"Sugar-free" soft drinks usually do not contain other easily metabolized sweeteners, so the risk of dental caries from drinking them is much less than that with "regular" soft drinks. HOWEVER, be aware that all "soda" soft drinks also contain added acids - both carbonic acid from the carbonation, and phosphoric acid. The syrups used for flavor also may be metabolized as carbohydrates. Thus, being "sugar-free" alone is not enough to prevent dental caries, if excessive amounts of soft drinks are consumed daily.
