Soft Drinks and Braces

You have braces because you want an attractive smile. What you eat and how you take care of your teeth are extremely important when you have braces. Even just as important is what you choose to drink.

Soft drinks and energy drinks are not healthy drink options even when you don’t have braces, but they are especially bad if you are undergoing orthodontic treatment. The ingredients in soft drinks and energy drinks can have devastating effects on your orthodontic hardware and the improvements you are trying to make to your smile.

All regular sodas are laden with sugar. Sugar is known to cause detrimental damage to your teeth by creating cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease. It is also a contributing factor to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease – even among young people. Choosing diet soft drinks is no better for you. All soft drinks and energy drinks contain high amounts of acids. Phosphoric acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid all lead to the decalcification of tooth enamel. Decalcification refers to the reduction of calcium and phosphate from your teeth, leading to higher sensitivity and decay over time.

Not only do the acids negatively affect your teeth, but they also harm your braces. Acids can eat away at the substance that holds your brackets in place, making your orthodontic hardware ineffective at straightening your teeth. When you get your braces off, those who repeatedly drank soft drinks often have discoloration on the teeth compared to where the brackets were placed.

At Broad Street Braces, we encourage you to make water your beverage of choice. Water has highly beneficial effects on the entire body. It is the most abundant natural resource on Earth, with no adverse ingredients.

Breaking the habit of drinking sodas can be difficult. Yet, when you think about how water prevents damage to your smile, the effort of breaking your bad habit is worth it.