Fun and Fitness for the 40-Something

I’ve done some previous posts on the merits of sports drinks, but it seems I’ve overlooked an important aspect—the effect the drinks can have on your teeth. Researchers have found that prolonged consumption of sports drinks can cause erosion and, in some cases, staining. And brushing your teeth afterward only makes matters worse.

Dental researchers from New York University presented their findings at the annual meeting of the International Association for Dental Research earlier this month. According to a press release, they concluded that that prolonged consumption of sports drinks may be linked to a condition known as erosive tooth wear. Erosive tooth wear occurs when acids eat away the tooth’s smooth hard enamel coating and trickle into the bone-like material underneath, causing the tooth to soften and weaken. The condition can lead to severe tooth damage and even tooth loss if not treated.

The researchers used cow teeth, which closely resemble human teeth, to conduct their experiments. They cut five teeth in half and soaked one half in a sports drink, the other in water. The teeth were immersed in the liquids for 75-90 minutes to simulate the effect of sipping the drinks over the course of a day. When they compared the two halves of the same teeth, they discovered that the halves exposed to sports drinks showed a significant amount of erosion and softening.

The experiment included several popular brands of sports drinks—Vitamin Water, Life Water, Gatorade, Powerade and Propel Fit Water. The researchers found no significant difference in which drink caused the most softening, but they did note that Gatorade and Powerade also caused significant staining.

And here’s another noteworthy, and possibly counter-intuitive, point: Brushing your teeth right after consuming a sports drink can actually compound the tooth erosion because softened enamel is very susceptible to the abrasive properties of toothpaste. Rather than brushing immediately, you should wait at least half an hour, so the softened enamel can “re-harden.”

The lead researcher suggests consuming sports drinks only in moderation. Those who drink it more often should ask their dentists about acid-neutralizing re-mineralizing toothpaste that can help re-harden soft enamel.

I’m not really really a hard core athlete, so I think I’ll just stick with water and skip the unnecessary calories, cost and dental problems. But, if you do need those extra carbs and protein for tough workouts, there’s always chocolate milk. You’ll get about 26 grams of carbs and 8 grams of protein per cup—and the bonus calcium should actually help your teeth (not to mention your bones).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 7:35 am and is filed under General Fitness, Health and Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.