Cola That Erodes Teeth, and Cider

[Photo by Getty Images Bank]

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A recent study has revealed that refreshing soft drinks, often thought of during summer, corrode the surface of teeth worn down by brushing. When teeth were observed at the nanoscale level, it was found that soft drinks penetrate the fine grooves created by brushing, causing tooth decay.

Interestingly, the rate of tooth corrosion differed between cola and cider, even though both are soft drinks. Cola corroded teeth faster than cider. However, after a certain period, the degree of corrosion was similar for both cola and cider.

Soft Drinks Dissolve Teeth

This is a tooth sample (left) for atomic force microscopy measurement. The research team observed this sample using an atomic force microscopy probe (far right).

Professor Seungbeom Hong’s research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently published their findings on the correlation between soft drinks and teeth in the international journal Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials on the 21st. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used, which is a device that scans the surface of materials with a probe at the nanometer (nm, one-millionth of a millimeter) scale to observe surface shapes and conditions.

The team used this to observe teeth exposed to soft drinks such as cola, cider, and orange juice over time. They examined changes in the enamel, the outermost layer of the tooth, and found that after 5 minutes of exposure to soft drinks, the tooth’s elastic modulus dropped by about five times. Surface roughness increased approximately fivefold after 10 minutes compared to the initial state.

By visualizing the observations through atomic force microscopy, the team also discovered that soft drinks penetrate and corrode specific patterns or scratches on the enamel caused by brushing.

Cola Corrodes Fastest but Eventually Similar to Cider

This graph shows the changes in surface roughness (above) and elastic modulus (below) of tooth enamel exposed to carbonated beverages, visualized using atomic force microscopy. The changes in roughness for each carbonated beverage can be observed.

In particular, the rate of tooth corrosion varied depending on the type of soft drink. In the experiment, Coca-Cola showed the highest surface roughness among the three beverages after just one minute, rapidly increasing in roughness until 5 minutes had passed. In contrast, Sprite showed a roughness level similar to Minute Maid initially, but after 5 minutes, its roughness sharply increased to a level comparable to that of cola.

The research team found significance in this study as it confirmed the existing theory that soft drinks are indeed harmful to dental health.

Professor Seungbeom Hong stated, "While the actual tooth corrosion process may not be as severe as the study results due to the oral environment and saliva acting as a protective layer, teeth exposed to soft drinks for extended periods can experience surface roughening and deterioration of mechanical properties such as elastic modulus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.