{"id":404255,"date":"2018-02-25T10:04:52","date_gmt":"2018-02-25T10:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=404255"},"modified":"2018-02-25T10:05:38","modified_gmt":"2018-02-25T10:05:38","slug":"sipping-fruit-teas-damages-teeth-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=404255","title":{"rendered":"Sipping fruit teas ‘damages teeth’ – Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sipping acidic drinks such as fruit teas and flavoured water can wear away teeth and damage the enamel, an investigation by scientists has shown.<\/p>\n

The King’s College London team found that drinking them between meals and savouring them for too long increased the risk of tooth erosion from acid.<\/p>\n

The research, in the British Dental Journal, looked at the diets of 300 people with severe erosive tooth wear.<\/p>\n

It said the problem was increasing as people snacked more.<\/p>\n

Fruit squashes, cordials, fruit teas, diet drinks, sugared drinks and flavoured water are all acidic and can cause wear and tear to teeth, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

And continuously sipping or holding these drinks in the mouth before swallowing increased the risk of tooth erosion.<\/p>\n

Dr Saoirse O’Toole, the lead study author, from King’s College London Dental Institute, said: “If you drink things for long periods of time, greater than five minutes, or if you play with things in your mouth or if you nibble on fruit over a few minutes rather than eating them as a whole fruit – these are things that can really damage your teeth.<\/p>\n

“If you’re going to have an apple as a snack at lunchtime, then try not to have anything acidic later on in the evening.<\/p>\n

“If you are going to have a glass of wine in the evening, then don’t have your fruit tea in the morning.<\/p>\n

“Just balance things in your diet.”<\/p>\n

The researchers found people who had drinks such as water with a slice of lemon or hot fruit-flavoured teas twice a day between meals were more than 11 times more likely to have moderate or severe tooth erosion.<\/p>\n

But this figure was halved when the drinks were taken with meals.<\/p>\n

Sugar-free soft drinks were as erosive as sugar-sweetened ones, the report said. And vinegars and pickled products could also lead to tooth erosion.<\/p>\n

What drinks are acidic?<\/strong><\/p>\n