Are Energy Drinks Ruining Your Teeth? Probably. Here’s Why

Got a teenager who loves energy drinks? Hope you love paying high dental bills. The fact is energy drinks are horrible for your teeth, even worse than soda. The reason is their high acidity and sugar content. Energy and sports drinks damage tooth enamel, breed cavities, and wear out your teeth. Overall, they make a dentist’s job — protecting your healthy smile — harder, if not close to impossible.

What Exactly Are Energy Drinks?

“Energy drinks are widely promoted as products that increase energy and enhance mental alertness and physical performance,” explains the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Next to multivitamins, energy drinks are the most popular dietary supplement consumed by American teens and young adults.”

You’ll recognize some of the most popular brands from the shelves of convenience stores or perhaps your teenager’s recycling bin: Red Bull, Monster, and RockStar. Soda pop is so 1980s: The industry is experiencing a wind down in sales. But Energy Drinks? They’re hot stuff — a several billion dollar industry and rising.

What’s In Energy Drinks?

Energy drinks are loaded with caffeine — some as high as 160mg, which is equivalent to a Starbucks coffee. Some also contain Guarana — native to the Amazon region, guarana berries contain a very high concentration of caffeine.

But it’s not the caffeine your dentist is worried about: It’s the high sugar and acidity.

Most energy drinks contain a high amount of taurine, an amino acid that eats away the enamel of your teeth. Many are also loaded with sugar — so much they put soda to shame!

What Energy Drinks Do to Your Teeth

The high amount of sugar and acids in energy drinks eat away at your teeth. The sugar provides a feast for the bacteria that cause cavities. The acid degrades your teeth.

What About Sugar Free Energy Drinks?

Certainly sugar-free energy drinks are better for your teeth than the sugary stuff, but not by much. These drinks still contain a high amount of acidity. In fact, the erosion your enamel experiences from sugar-free carbonated drinks, including diet soda and sugar-free energy drinks, is about the same as you’d get from drinking the regular kind. In many studies done on sugar-free vs. sugary drinks, the amount of enamel erosion is about the same whether the drink contains sugar as a sweetener.

How to Quit Energy Drinks

If you or your teenager consume multiple energy drinks daily, you’ve likely developed a caffeine addiction. Quitting is best for your dental health as well as overall health, but it’s going to be challenging.

One alternative is to switch to green tea. This will help you get your caffeine dose in a healthier way — green tea lowers your risk of cancer and heart disease. It also boosts brain performance and mental clarity.

If you are quitting energy drinks, make sure to drink plenty of water. It’s a natural energy booster — much of your sluggishness throughout the day may actually be the result of mild dehydration. Plus, water is your dentist’s best friend. It naturally bathes your teeth and rids your mouth of bacteria causing cavities.

If you must consume energy drinks, consider diluting them with water or at least brushing and rinsing with water afterwards. This will help wash the damaging acids off your teeth.