The things that you eat and drink play a big role in your overall health. However, they also affect your teeth in ways that you may not have thought of. If you drink acidic beverages, you may be causing more damage than you realize. Here are a few ways that you are damaging your teeth with what you drink.

Enamel Weakening

You may think that drinking diet beverages are a smarter choice than sugary beverages, but they both have acidity that harms your teeth in the same way. The problem is that, over time, the beverage will cause your enamel to weaken. You'll end up having problems with teeth that chip, crack, or break if they are constantly exposed to the beverage over time.

Remineralization Problems

When your teeth are exposed to acid erosion from your beverages, it will actually slow down the process of remineralizing your teeth. The minerals in your teeth will leach out to go to the acidic environment, rather than staying in the tooth where it belongs. If you want those minerals to stay in your teeth, you need to keep the environment less acidic, otherwise known as alkaline, so that your teeth absorb minerals.

It becomes harder for your teeth to remineralize when you are constantly drinking acidic beverages. Believe it or not, but it's actually worse to slowly sip on an acidic beverage all day long than to just drink it quickly with a meal. You never give your mouth a chance to remove the acidity so your teeth are able to recover.

Cavity Creation

When you combine the lack of enamel and minerals, it will lead to more cavities in your teeth. All the acid will remain in your mouth during the day and slowly cause your teeth to decay. Unfortunately, you may not notice that you are causing a problem until the cavities become painful and you have them inspected by a dentist.

Potential Solutions

The most obvious solution is to give up that acidic beverage, but it is hard to do when it is something you want. Cutting back may be the first step, as well as drinking them from a straw so that the beverage doesn't wash over your teeth. Consider rinsing your mouth out with water after consuming an acidic beverage to help minimize the lasting effect on your teeth. It won't be as good as brushing, but it can get the job done when away from home.

Reach out to a dentist to learn more.