dentists, what can you actually drink?

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Went to the dentist the other day since before COVID, was first time I could get an appointment (thanks NHS/maternity leave)

Anyway she said you gums are receding a bit, what do you drink.

My reply sugar free soda mainly mixed with squash.

Ooh you shouldn't drink that

what can I drink then!

Plain Water

Great let's get the bread out for a fully rounded diet


But thinking about it, it is the only safd thing to drink

Or maybe beer maybe spirits or would that cause issues too other than alcoholism and a even bigger gut

Fruit juice no
Squash no
Soda no
Fizzy water no
Tea no
Coffee no

Dog milk?

Likely no contains sugars


Or is all this in the same level as "bacon can kill you"


Cause I'm now severely dehydrated

[cookie1600]

Have you tired a pint of Listerine top?

[NaePasaran]

My dentist has no problem with black coffee, sparkling water and plain water with lemon.

They won't be perfect but better than 1.5l of irn bru which if has replaced.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

I'm now on sparkling water about 2 litres a day but she did say that sparkling wasn't good either

Tbh it felt more like she was going to try to sell me her own line of drinks

At least with sparkling water I get some mouth feel and it feels more refreshing altho today I'm on the last bottle of orange soda as I've run out of sparkling

[hairy v]

I was told the same about fizzy drinks by a previous dentist.

You have said no to tea, but without sugar surely ok? There are lots of herbal flavours available.

Milk? Lots of different types too.

[steveo3002]

im not proud of this , but since i was a kid ive pretty much only drank fizzy pop , im 50 now and no fillings /missing teeth

make of that what you will

no fastidious cleaning regime either , brushed twice a day if lucky

[Trustmeimadoctor]

hairy v said:

I was told the same about fizzy drinks by a previous dentist.

You have said no to tea, but without sugar surely ok? There are lots of herbal flavours available.

Milk? Lots of different types too.

Tea coffee were more from the staining point of view

And most milks contain sugars(if not all) and I'm not drinking 2 litres of oat milk a day

Bug for me I can't stand tea or coffee so they are off the list

[Tom8]

I was told receding gums just a thing from aging. I am an ex smoker, drink anything although not much sugary fizzy drinks. At first I thought it was being an ex smoker but my bro who is older and never smoked had same issue and told it was his age. Made me feel better.

[Hoofy]

Green or oriental teas?

She should have told you why all fizzy drinks are bad for your teeth - it's about acidity which weakens the enamel. I was drinking diet fizzy drinks for ages which ruined my teeth.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Hoofy said:

Green or oriental teas?

She should have told you why all fizzy drinks are bad for your teeth - it's about acidity which weakens the enamel. I was drinking diet fizzy drinks for ages which ruined my teeth.

For me I can't do hot drinks except hot chocolate

[thebraketester]

I was told recently my my dentist that is best to have all your sugar in one go ideally. I asked him "so it's better to have one cup of tea with 10 sugars rather than 10 teas each with one sugar" and his answer was "from a dental point of view, yes". It's due to the fluctuating PH in your mouth which isn't good for teeth. Google "Stephan curve"

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Ok so 2 litres of full fat coke for breakfast then

[Crumpet]

What’s the logic behind sparkling water being bad for teeth? Something like the CO2 forming acids? Do they still put fluoride in tap water?

I must be incredibly boring. Espresso to wake up. Plain old tap water throughout the day to keep me alive. Beer to make me sleep. They’re literally the only things I drink.

[rovermorris999]

All sparkling water is mildly acidic. If you dissolve carbon dioxide in water you get carbonic acid. I was surprised when I tested one that said on the bottle ph=7.5 at source, so mildly alkaline. It is then fizzed up with CO2 and dropped to 6.5, mildly acidic. Virtually all alcoholic drinks are acidic even dark spirits, about the only one that isn't is neat gin (and presumably vodka too). I get a bit of acid reflux so bought a ph meter and tested just about everything. Quite an eye opener. Fruit juice is really acidic, fizzy juice more so.

[hairy v]

Crumpet said:

What’s the logic behind sparkling water being bad for teeth? Something like the CO2 forming acids? Do they still put fluoride in tap water?

I must be incredibly boring. Espresso to wake up. Plain old tap water throughout the day to keep me alive. Beer to make me sleep. They’re literally the only things I drink.

Yes, dissolved CO2 makes carbonic acid. Yes, a lot of water companies still put fluoride in tap water (at health authorities request).

[Armitage.Shanks]

Over enthusiastic brushing can cause gum recession.

[wyson]

My dentist told me to drink fizzy stuff through a straw. Just get some silicone ones you can pop in the dishwasher. Its not a massive change.

[Crumpet]

hairy v said:

Yes, dissolved CO2 makes carbonic acid. Yes, a lot of water companies still put fluoride in tap water (at health authorities request).

Makes sense.

On a similar but unrelated note I seem to remember watching something recently about how using mouthwash raises blood pressure. Can’t remember if it was PH related but the guy spun an interesting explanation.

[xx99xx]

Years ago, I drank 2L of fizzy water a day. My dentist then charged me ££££ for work resulting from enamel erosion from the acidic drink I loved.

My teeth are still generally crap so maybe some of it was due to fizzy water, maybe not. But I avoid it now, knowing it is so acidic.

[Oakey]

For what it's worth I saw the dentist last week and was told mine are receeding. I'm 42, I drink mostly still flavoured water.