Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Folke bomb here with a classic episode featuring our erstwhile host, Christian Sagar. This one concerns one of those health warnings that we hear but may dismiss. Is over cautious or an overstatement that soda will ruin your teeth. Christians here to separate the truth from the fiction. Hey brain Stuff, it's me Christian Sagar. So there's this urban myth that soda can dissolve a tooth overnight. The
Internet has thoroughly busted this. But just because it's proven that hanging onto a mouthful of cola for upwards of twelve hours won't hollow out your jaw, that doesn't mean you should try it. Soft drinks can indeed damage your pearly whites. But how and how much? Well, let's talk teeth. Your teeth have four basic layers, the root, the pulp, the denton protecting the pulp, and the enamel tooth. Enamel
is the hardest tissue the human body produces. It's made up of crystal fibers packed together into a smooth mineral casing, or as we call it, a crown. But Unlike your bones, enamel is not a living tissue because it's not alive. That also means it can't repair itself. That means it takes damage from daily wear and tear, including what we eat and what we drink. There are two types of trouble.
Drinks can cause all over erosion due to the acids they contain, and spot decay caused by the bacteria that grow on your teeth. Both come down to a pH imbalance on a scale from zero to xenomorph. The human mouth has a pretty neutral pH level, something around six point eight. The pH scale itself runs from zero to fourteen, with zero being the most acidic, fourteen being the most base or alkaline, and seven being neutral like pure water.
Some of the bacteria in your mouth are sugar hungry, so when you consume sweet stuff like soda, they throw the bacterial equivalent of a house party. They'll link up into colonies on your teeth called a biofilm or plaque, and feast on the sugar and the lookscrete acids, which can weaken your enamel whenever they're hunkered down, eventually causing cavities. But Christian, you might say I only drink sugar free sodas well. That'll save you from cavities, but all sodas
contain acids of their own. On the pH scale, soft drinks have been found to range from around four point oh to two point four. Your saliva should bring your mouth back to normal within a half an hour or so, but your enamel can be affected by anything from about a five point five or below. The erosion and decay caused by chronic soda consumption can be rampant, and yes, rampant is the official medical term. In one case study, soda abuse was found to do dental damage equivalent to
meth or crack abuse. The only difference was the shade of discoloration in the patient's remaining teeth. Dentists recommend using straws and rinsing with water after drinking any acidic or sugary stuff. They also stress rushing twice a day with fluoride or remineralizing products to help maintain your enamel. In fact, it can't heal itself from the inside the way your bones do, but the mineral structure can be buffeted from the outside. These are good habits even if you've never
touched a soda in your life. After all, sodas aren't the only culprits in enamel erosion, in tooth decay, and your future relationship with dentures isn't the only thing at stake here. Research has linked oral health and whole body health. This means a disease that starts in the mouth may have a hand in heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory infections, and even some cancers. Today's episode was written by me and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of
I Heart Radios How stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other toothsome topics, visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.