(Food-Beverage-News.Com, May 30, 2013 ) San Francisco, CA -- A new study shows that when pictures of “meth mouth” and pictures of a person who has drank an excessive amount of soda are put side by side, the extent of the damage is pretty much the same. So what do crack, meth, and soda all have in common?
While none of them are particularly sweet, they all are very acidic and damage the enamel on teeth, causing similar dental problems, said Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny, a professor of restorative dentistry at the Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia.
The acid in soda is in the form of ascorbic and phosphoric acid. Without good dental hygiene, constant exposure can causes erosion of the enamel and significant oral damages in other areas, such as tooth decay. Bassiouny found that a woman in her mid-30’s who drank 2 liters of pop daily for three to five years experienced rot and decay on her teeth similar to that of a 51 year-old habitual crack abuser and 19-year-old meth addict, who had used meth for three years, who also drank several liters of coke a day because the meth made his mouth dry.
The woman said she chose diet soda over regular because of weight loss issues and also admitted that she hadn’t seen a dentist in years. The survey reported that she knew that soda and other sugary drinks were associated with tooth decay.
Dr. Bassiouny noted that her teeth were soft and discolored, many destroyed by acid erosion due to the soda. She told him that she usually drank the soda from the can or bottle directly, and let the soda sit in her mouth before swallowing. The massive damage to the left side of her teeth was associated with leaning over to the left side of the couch while watching TV, which resulted in what is known as a collapsed bite.
Unfortunately, none of her teeth that were affected by erosion were salvageable and the woman ended up having to have her teeth removed and be fitted for dentures.
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