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The Feed Zone with Monique Ryan: Sports drinks and tooth enamel

Dear Monique,
I had heard recently that sports drinks are bad for our teeth and cancause dental erosion. Obviously we need to use sports drinks when we trainand race. Is this a valid concern and what can we do about it?
JBDear JB,
Thanks very much for your question. Obviously it is best for your dentalhealth to limit sugar in your daily diet. However, when it comes to trainingand racing, easily digested and readily absorbed sports drinks with severalcarbohydrate sources are essential to replace fluid and fuel during longerworkouts.The link between consumption of sports drinks and dental health raisestwo issues, dental decay or caries (cavities) and dental erosion or thewearing away of tooth enamel over time. When it come to dental caries,you should consider that ounce per ounce sports drinks have about halfthe sugar content of sodas and fruit juices. So simply on the basis ofsugar content, they are not as likely to contribute to tooth decay.Regarding dental erosion, studies with conflicting findings have beencoming out for the past five years. It is very important to look at themethodology used in the studies. One study from the University of Maryland,which received plenty of media attention placed bits of enamel taken fromhuman extracted teeth into thirteen different drinks, including sportsdrinks and lemonade. After 14 days of sitting in these drinks, they weighedthe enamel to determine how much enamel had been destroyed by the drinks.Some of the drinks were found to erode enamel more than cola or black tea.Of course, even an endurance athlete is unlikely to consume a sports drinkcontinually for 14 days. The study design really did not mimic conditionsunder which athletes typically consume sports drinks during training, versusa slow steady intake throughout the day. Keeping the teeth enamel in thedrinks for 14 days is roughly equal to thirteen years of normal beverageconsumption. Researchers cautioned against all day use of these drinksat work etc, and recommended rinsing your mouth out with water after usingthem.Another study conducted at Ohio State University compared the levelof dental erosion among athletes who were defined as being regular sportsdrink users versus those who were not regular sports drinks users. Of the304 athletes questioned and evaluated, it was found that 36-percent ofsports drinks users, versus 40-percent of sports drink non-users had dentalerosions. Researchers concluded that there was no connection between sportsdrinks and dental erosion.Because these researchers also had subjects complete a lifestyle questionnairethey also cited beer drinking and snacking between meals as significantpredictors of dental erosion. The Ohio State study examined real life useof sports drinks by athletes and  actual dental erosion and providesgood data regarding the risks of sports drinks.Of course even appropriate athletic use of sports drinks should be inconjunction with proper dental care such as brushing, flossing, and regulardental check-ups, and sports drinks alone would not be the cause of anydental problems.
Thanks,
Monique