Ordering that next hamburger without the soft drink and pickles may spare the teeth some wear and tear.

Downing too many acidic foods, including soda, fruit juice, pickles, yogurt and even fresh fruit, can erode the teeth’s protective enamel, dentists say. This erosion is one of the main processes that cause Tooth decay.

“As the availability of soft drinks increases so does the amount of erosion in our population,” according to Dr. Samantha Shipley, a member of the U.S. Army Dental Corps and the lead author of a report on dental erosion in the journal General Dentistry.

“The primary action patients can take to decrease their likelihood of erosion is to reduce the consumption of sugary sodas, fruit juices and sports drinks.”

According to Shipley and her colleagues, any highly acidic food has the potential to cause structural damage to the teeth. It’s the job of saliva to restore the mouth’s normal acid balance, but a steady diet of tart and tangy foods can overwhelm this natural defense.

Soda contains phosphoric acid, which is even more erosive than the organic acids found in some other foods, including fermented products like yogurt, which are rich in lactic acid, and fresh fruit and fruit products, which contain citric and malic acids. Grapes and wine come with a dose of tartaric acid, another organic compound.

“Erosion is possible when any of these foods are consumed in excessive amounts,” write Shipley and her colleagues.

Cutting out soft drinks and fruit juice is no guarantee of an erosion-free smile, however.

Other eroding factors, according to the report authors, include acid reflux disease and even exposure to acidic gases. One study found that battery and phosphate mining company workers routinely exposed to sulfuric, phosphoric and other gases had high rates of dental erosion.

SOURCE: General Dentistry, January/February 2005.