Sports drinks effect on teeth

Written by The Australian Dental Association

Fact Checked

Sports drinks have been designed to help professional athletes recover from the stresses of their intense athletic activities.

If you play weekend or social sports, the best drink for you to stay hydrated is water. Sports drinks will provide you with little benefit for this level of activity. However, they will expose your teeth to sugar and acid that can cause tooth decay and tooth erosion when drunk regularly. They can be more damaging to your teeth if you drink them when you are dehydrated.

Ingredients to look out for

One quick way to work out whether what you are drinking is beneficial to your dental and overall health is to be familiar with the nutritional label located on the side of the drink.

Sports drinks often contain added sugar and ingredients that cause the drink to have a low pH, making it acidic. Drinking these types of drinks regularly can cause damage to your teeth over time. Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay while acidic drinks can cause tooth erosion.

In the list of ingredients, sources of sugar may be listed as:

sugar
glucose
dextrose
fruit juice concentrate
cane sugar.

Ingredients that can make the drink acidic include:

citric acid
sodium benzoate
sodium citrate.

600ml sports drink

Choose water instead

Try to remember to take a reusable water bottle that you can refill with tap water when playing sports or exercising. Tap water is the best drink choice for healthy teeth and keeping your body hydrated. In many Australian communities, tap water includes fluoride which helps to protect and strengthen teeth.

If you drink sports drinks regularly, be sure to drink water after. Also see your dentist regularly to ensure your teeth remain healthy.

More resources

0.49 MB Sports Drinks Dental risks of sports drinks.

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Sports drinks

Ingredients to look out for

Choose water instead

More resources

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