How do sodas and energy drinks affect your teeth?

Dr. J. Carlos Garcia studied at UT Austin and majored in Biology then attended
UT Houston School of Dentistry.
Introduction
Mentor: Dr. Carlos Garcia
Mentors Business: Dr. J. Carlos Garcia D.D.S.
Profession: General Dentist
My Study: General Dentistry
HST Independent Study Mentorship- Fall 2015
Korey Scanlin 1st
Mrs. Click
What is ISM?
ISM stands for independent study mentorship and is a class offered at Clear
Springs High School where a student can find an active employee in a field of
work they are interested in and use that person as a mentor and shadow
them during their work.
Affects of Soda and Energy Drinks on Teeth
Every kid or teenager in many parts of the world today often times drink
sodas and energy drinks. Due to this, kids and teens have a higher chance of
getting decay in their teeth, which leads to my question. What chemical is in
these drinks that do this to teeth?
I chose this on the simple fact that I am a teenager and I often drink these
drinks. I wanted to see what I need to do to prevent cavities and I wanted to
let others my age know of prevention methods and the reasoning behind
cavities caused from these drinks.
Cavities
Cavities that are created by these drinks are due mostly to the high levels of
sugar. The sugar reacts with a bacteria in your mouth and it creates an acid
that eats away enamel and depletes calcium.
Cavities are not good for your mouth because they are spots on the tooth
that have been eaten away at and it causes sensitivities in the mouth.
Amount of sugars in those drinks

The higher level of sugars in the drink mean more reaction from the bacteria
the resides in your mouth. The more reactions, the more acid that will sit on
your tooth and deplete your enamel and calcium levels.
The average soft drink has around 40g of sugar and the average soft drink
has an average of 30g of sugar. These amounts are very high and can do an
extensive amount of damage in the human mouth, considering anything from
12g and up can do damage to teeth.
Results of untreated cavities
Not treating cavities can lead to numerous amounts of procedures and
potentially the loss of teeth.

Root Canal- This procedure is done once someone leaves a cavity alone for
quite some time. It is a relatively expensive procedure depending on the
dentist and quality of work.

Pulling Teeth- This is the most simple and cheapest of the many methods of
an over decayed tooth. It gets rid of the problem, but on the downside you
have lost a tooth.

Partial- This is used when multiple teeth have been pulled but not all, and it
fills the gaps where teeth should be.

Crown- Procedure used when some of the tooth is savable. Toot is filled down
where it is free from all decay and a cap (Crown) is place over it to look like
a normal tooth.
Prevention
The key to prevention of cavities is to limit the sugar as much as possible
because the less sugar, the less the bacteria will have to react with to create
the acid.
A way to drink these drinks is to get the diet version or the sugar free
version. In all of the major companies that produce these drinks, they provide
these alternatives which give you the drink you want with no sugar.
Also, if the diet version is just not for you, a way of prevention is to brush
immediately after drinking one of these drinks. This will minimize the acid
that sits on your teeth.
Research
I am in the process of acquiring information from patients at my dentists
office. We are getting an estimate of how many of these drinks kids from 6-10
and young adults 11-20 are drinking, and then comparing the number of
cavities they have to their answer. I believe this real world information that I
am finding myself will be very beneficial for my project.
What else do I need to finish?

I need to finish my product and label where the bacteria and sugar react and
where the acid tends to lay.

I need to finish acquiring all of the information from patients at my dentist

office.

I want to find the best substitute drink for each category.

I want to find cases where these drinks caused someone to lose all of their
teeth.

I want to find an average cost of a cavity and compare how much a can of
coke can cost your mouth.

I hope to find more information that enhances my project tremendously.

Thank YOU!
I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Juan Carlos Garcia for giving me this
incredible opportunity, my teacher Mrs. Click for keeping me on task, My
parents John and Lisa Scanlin for motivating me to do the best I can in this
class, my friends for helping me relax when I had extensive amounts of work
due, and my classmates for listening to this presentation.
Conclusion
These drinks cause millions of people to have cavities and even lose teeth too
often of times. If not taken seriously, these drinks will cost you not only large
amounts of your hard earned money, but also your smile. Use the prevention
methods I mentioned to avoid cavities in all and have a healthy happy smile.
If you dont take these points I have made seriously, then I have one question
for you. Is that Coke worth losing your teeth?
Citations
"Dentistry.net." <i>Soda's Effect on Our Teeth</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct.

2015.
"Reasons Why Soda Rots Your Teeth." <i>Healthy Eating</i>. N.p., n.d. Web.
12 Oct. 2015.
"Sugar Is the Only Cause of Tooth Decay, Study Says." <i>Time</i>. Time,
n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
"Sugary Drinks." <i>The Nutrition Source</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
"The Surprising Truth About Cavities." <i>Parents Magazine</i>. N.p., n.d.
Web. 12 Oct. 2015.