HOW DO SODAS AND

ENERGY DRINKS
AFFECT YOUR TEETH?

Korey Scanlin 1st

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. 2 hours of
shadowing are required per week, along with various assignments
throughout the week.

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.

"The Surprising Truth About Cavities." <i>Parents Magazine</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct.
2015.

MAIN POINTS
Cavities
Sugar Content
Acid Reaction
Prevention
Results of Untreated Cavities
Ways to Treat Permanent Damage
Alternatives and Their Effects

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.

"Dentistry.net." <i>Soda's Effect on Our Teeth</i>.

N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

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.
"Sugar Is the Only Cause of Tooth Decay, Study Says."
<i>Time</i>. Time, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN MY
MOUTH?
The whole reason cavities even exist is because of the reaction the sugar in
the soda has with bacteria that is always in your mouth. This bacteria reacts
with the sugar to form acid that sits on your teeth and just wears away
enamel. If not treated immediately after drinking, this acid will eat away
more and more enamel and eventually create pockets of decay otherwise
known as cavities.

"The Surprising Truth About Cavities." <i>Parents Magazine</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

RESULTS OF UNTREATED
CAVITIES: GUMS
While your teeth would be taking much of the toll for drinking a lot
of sodas, the gums will still take a beating. If one does not brush to
prevent cavities, their gums will start to swell up and evolve into
gingivitis and an excess of tarter will build up between the tooth
and gum. Gingivitis is only the first stage of gum disease, which is
much more advanced.

Dr. J. Carlos Garcia

RESULTS OF UNTREATED
CAVITIES: GUMS
While gingivitis is the first stage of gum disease, what follows is
much worse. Periodontitis is the next stage and it is nothing pretty.
The gum line begins to recede and and pockets begin to form
between the teeth and gums. Also, more extensive amounts of
tartar begin to build up.

"Dentistry.net." <i>Soda's Effect on Our Teeth</i>. N.p., n.d. Web.

12 Oct. 2015.

SUTURES

FILLING A CAVITY:
COMPOSITE

FILLING A CAVITY: SILVER

FILLING

MY PRODUCT

WAYS TO TREAT PERMANENT

DAMAGE
While there are numerous ways to treat the permanent damage
done to your teeth, none of them can bring your teeth back. All of
these treatments are artificial in their own way and will never be like
having your real teeth back, but some are close.
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

WAYS TO TREAT PERMANENT

DAMAGE
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.

Dr. J. Carlos Garcia

PREVENTION
To prevent cavities from forming, you cannot sip on these sodas for
hours at a time. This allows the bacteria and sugar to react and sit
on your teeth, essentially destroying them. If you must have one,
try to drink it very fast. Another way is to brush your teeth
immediately after drinking a soda. This removes the acid from your
teeth gibing it no time to sit and break away enamel.

"Dentistry.net." <i>Soda's Effect on Our Teeth</i>. N.p., n.d. Web.

12 Oct. 2015.

OTHER WAYS TO PREVENT

While sodas do get credit for being a primary source of decay on
the average person, another way to avoid cavities entirely is to
keep a healthy, sugar-limited diet. The less sugar consumed will
cause for less reaction in your mouth, therefore making cavites less
common.

"Dentistry.net." <i>Soda's Effect on Our Teeth</i>. N.p., n.d. Web.

12 Oct. 2015.

DEMONSTRATION
I will now demonstrate how to brush properly with my model.

ARE THEY REALLY

ALTERNATIVES?
While you may think that the soda you are drinking with zero sugar
isnt causing any decay, you are in fact wrong.
Diet sodas may have zero sugar, but the pH levels in them are that
of coke, which will trigger the same reaction in your mouth that
sugar would.
This decay can often be worse because the person drinking the diet
soda believes nothing is happening to their teeth when, in reality,
their teeth are being effected the same as a normal coke.
"Sugar Is the Only Cause of Tooth Decay, Study Says." <i>Time</i>. Time,
n.d. Web.
12 Oct. 2015.

ARE THEY REALLY

ALTERNATIVES?
Many people may result to flavored waters and power drinks to
help their sweet tooth for a drink and may think it is better for
them, but it isnt on most levels. Popular power drinks such as
Gatorade and Powerade often have just as much sugar or even
more than sodas. These can be very harmful for your teeth and
should be avoided just as sodas should be.

"Sugary Drinks." <i>The Nutrition Source</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 12

Oct. 2015.

BETTER ALTERNATIVES
The best alternative to keeping healthy teeth and staying hydrated
is obviously water, but ones that are too high in sugar or acid but
are sweeter include:
Various types of juices, such as apple juice, especically the
reduced sugar ones.
Zero sugar sport drinks
Unsweetened teas

"Reasons Why Soda Rots Your Teeth." <i>Healthy Eating</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct.
2015

SURVEY
During this semester I conducted a survey using surveymonkey.com.
While conducting this survey I came to learn that some kids were very
honest when it came to their answers and I got some very accurate
results. While the sample size of only 28 wasnt as sufficient as I
wouldve hoped, I still obtained information that helped my project
tremendously.

Has your dentist informed you about losing high amounts of enamal?

SURVEY
Which do you prefer?
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Soda

Energy Drink

Yes

Neither

How many cavities have you had in the last year?

20
15
10
5
0

2 to 5

More than 5

No

SURVEY RESULTS
In my survey I came to the obvious conclusion that people who
admitted to drinking anywhere from 2 to more than 5 sodas a day
also admitted to either having at least one cavity in the past year or
having a major procedure done to their teeth.

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.