WEBVTT - Will Soda Really Ruin My Teeth?

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<v Speaker 1>Great Courses Plus dot com slash brain Stuff. Welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, it's

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<v Speaker 1>me Christian Sager. So there's this urban myth that soda

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<v Speaker 1>can dissolve a tooth overnight. The Internet has thoroughly busted this.

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<v Speaker 1>But just because it's proven that hanging onto a mouthful

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<v Speaker 1>of cola for upwards of twelve hours won't hollow out

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<v Speaker 1>your jaw, that doesn't mean you should try it. Soft

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<v Speaker 1>drinks can indeed damage your pearly whites. But how and

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<v Speaker 1>how much? Well, let's talk teeth. Your teeth have four

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<v Speaker 1>basic layers, the root, the pulp, the denton protecting the pulp,

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<v Speaker 1>and the enamel tooth. Enamel is the hardest tissue the

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<v Speaker 1>human body produces. It's made up of crystal fibers packed

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<v Speaker 1>together into a smooth mineral casing, or as we call it,

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<v Speaker 1>a crown. But unlike your bones, enamel is not a

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<v Speaker 1>living tissue. Because it's not alive. That also means it

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<v Speaker 1>can't repair itself. That means it takes damage from daily

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<v Speaker 1>wear and tear, including what we eat and what we drink.

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<v Speaker 1>There are two types of trouble. Drinks can cause all

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<v Speaker 1>over erosion due to the acids they contain, and spot

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<v Speaker 1>decay caused by the bacteria that grow on your teeth.

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<v Speaker 1>Both come down to a pH imbalance on a scale

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<v Speaker 1>from zero to xenomorph. The human mouth has a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>neutral pH level, something around six point eight. The pH

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<v Speaker 1>scale itself runs from zero to fourteen, with zero being

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<v Speaker 1>the most acidic, fourteen being the most base or alkaline,

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<v Speaker 1>and seven being neutral like pure water. Some of the

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria in your mouth are sugar hungry, so when you

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<v Speaker 1>consume sweet stuff like soda, they throw the bacterial equivalent

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<v Speaker 1>of a house party. They'll link up into colonies on

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<v Speaker 1>your teeth called a biofilm or plaque, and feast on

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<v Speaker 1>the sugar and the lookscrete acids, which can weaken your

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<v Speaker 1>enamel whenever they're ancred down, eventually causing cavities. But Christian,

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<v Speaker 1>you might say, I only drink sugar free sodas well,

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<v Speaker 1>that'll save you from cavities. But all sodas contain acids

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<v Speaker 1>of their own. On the pH scale, soft drinks have

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<v Speaker 1>been found to range from around four point oh to

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<v Speaker 1>two point four. For comparison, battery acid is a one.

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<v Speaker 1>Your saliva should bring your mouth back to normal within

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<v Speaker 1>half an hour or so, but your enamel can be

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<v Speaker 1>affected by anything from about a five point five or below.

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<v Speaker 1>The erosion in decay caused by chronic soda consumption can

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<v Speaker 1>be rampant, and yes, rampant is the official medical term.

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<v Speaker 1>In one case study, soda abuse was found to do

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<v Speaker 1>dental damage equivalent to meth or crack abuse. The only

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<v Speaker 1>difference was the shade of discoloration in the patient's remaining teeth.

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<v Speaker 1>Dentists recommend using straws and rinsing with water after drinking

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<v Speaker 1>any acidic or sugar re stuff. They also stress rushing

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<v Speaker 1>twice a day with fluoride or remineralizing products to help

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<v Speaker 1>maintain your enamel. In fact, it can't heal itself from

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<v Speaker 1>the inside the way your bones do, but the mineral

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<v Speaker 1>structure can be buffeted from the outside. These are good

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<v Speaker 1>habits even if you've never touched a soda in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>After all, sodas aren't the only culprits in enamel erosion,

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<v Speaker 1>in tooth decay, and your future relationship with dentures isn't

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<v Speaker 1>the only thing at stake here. Research has linked oral

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<v Speaker 1>health and whole body health. This means a disease that

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<v Speaker 1>starts in the mouth may have a hand in heart disease,

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<v Speaker 1>rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory infections, and even some cancers. Check out

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<v Speaker 1>the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for more on

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<v Speaker 1>this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com.