Written by: Dr Madhavi Shetty ,Endodontist and co-founder The Funcdent.

What your drink can significantly affect your oral health. While there are several factors that can impact your teeth, a drinks acidic nature. Anything that measures 5.5 or less on the pH scale is considered acidic. Acidic foods and drinks soften tooth enamel, which makes teeth sensitive and vulnerable to damage, such as cavities. Drinks that are high in both acid and sugar have the potential to be doubly damaging.

When you drink a beverage, the liquid washes over your teeth — and coats the surfaces in your mouth. Therefore, sometimes you feel a different sensation on your teeth like a film of some sorts is formed or a grimy feeling. Here is a list of some of our favourite drinks and how they affect our oral cavity.

Sodas: one of the worst drinks for your teeth. It is high in sugar and acid, which can both damage your teeth. The sugar in soda feeds the bacteria in your mouth, which produce acids that can erode your tooth enamel. The acid in soda can also weaken your teeth and make them more susceptible to cavities. Even if we consider drinks with artificial sweeteners studies have shown no difference in enamel dissolution between diet and regular sodas

Fruit juice: often thought of as a healthy drink, but have been often associated with high cavity index. Fruit juice is high in sugar and acid, which can damage your teeth in the same way that soda does. In addition, fruit juice can stain your teeth, especially if it is dark in colour. It is recommended to dilute fruit juices 50% to lessen the chances of cavities .

Teas: which kind of tea is your preference decides the effect it has on your teeth, while green tea has many positive outcomes, excess can cause staining, most teas don’t have a detrimental effect on the teeth. However iced teas with sugary additives can increase the possibility of cavities.

Sparkling water: looks can be deceiving in this case. Sparkling water has a higher ph than orange juice. So while it seem harmless, the erosion protentional is high.

Wine: one glass of wine a day is something some doctors suggest, but which one is better for your teeth? Red is better, white wine is more acidic therefore can demineralize the tooth surface and staining much faster.

Other Liquors:Alcohol can dry out your mouth, saliva is one of the mouth’s natural defences against damage which can lead to tooth decay. Alcohol can also weaken your teeth. If you drink alcohol, it is important to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and to brush your teeth regularly., so anything over moderate consumption could be harmful, additionally because people (usually) sip their drinks slowly, gives the alcohol more time to do its damage.

Milk: composition of milk, including proteins and minerals such as calcium, inhibit attachment and growth of many cavity-forming bacteria in your mouth. While milk it good to keep the mouth healthy, the lactose in the milk promotes cavities on teeth if left on, therefore nursing bottle caries are common in children who sleep with milk bottles, it is advised to rinse your younglings mouth post drinking milk and milk products.

Energy drinks: although such sports drinks enhance physical resistance, stimulate metabolism, prevent rehydration and replace electrolytes during high activity efforts. However, these drinks often have a low pH and are acidic, which can erode enamel and dentin, and increase dentinhypersensitivity. They are also known to damage tooth-coloured fillings.

Water: The best beverage for your teeth is water. Water is not acidic and does not contain sugar, so it will not damage your teeth. If you want to drink something other than water, try to choose drinks that are low in sugar and acid. And remember to brush your teeth regularly, especially after drinking sugary or acidic beverages.
Strategies to protect your teeth

Drink water regularly. Water helps to keep your mouth hydrated and can help to wash away food particles and bacteria.

Avoid sugary drinks. Sugary drinks feed the bacteria in your mouth, which produce acids that can damage your teeth.

Avoid acidic drinks. Acidic drinks can erode your tooth enamel, making your teeth more susceptible to cavities.

Brush your teeth regularly. Brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each time.Wait to brush your teeth after drinking a harsh beverage for at least 30 minutes to avoid exacerbating the weakening effects on your enamel.

Floss your teeth daily. Flossing removes food particles and bacteria from between your teeth, where they can cause cavities.
See your dentist regularly. Your dentist can check your teeth for signs of decay and can give you tips on how to improve your oral health.