While many people drink sports drinks, thinking that it will improve their athletic prowess, it is actually hurting their oral health.
Sports drinks are packed with acid. Repeatedly exposing your teeth to the acid in sports drinks will eat away at the enamel on your teeth. Energy drinks are even worse on your teeth.
A 2012 study found that after just five days of repeated exposure to sports drinks, the damage to enamel was very evident. The authors of the study found that energy drinks caused twice as much damage to the enamel as sports drinks did.
It is reported that between 30 to 50 percent of U.S. teens consume energy drinks, and that 62 percent consume at least one sports drink a day. This is bad news for enamel. Unless teens cut back on their consumption of sports drinks and energy drinks, then their oral health will likely suffer.
So next time you reach for a little energy drink pick-me-up before work, remember what it does to your beautiful, glossy enamel.