Dental Expert Issues Warning Over Acidic Smoothies

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A dental expert has claimed that parents are inadvertently endangering their children’s oral health by giving them fruit smoothies, which have a high acidity level.

Kathryn Harley, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the Royal College of Surgeons, has warned parents that many of the smoothies that claim to be healthy drinks, were actually causing acid erosion.

Surveys show that half of children aged five have signs of tooth wear, which is caused by exposure to fruit-based acidic drinks. Acidic drinks soften the enamel and cause tooth erosion, which increase the risk of damage and decay.

Harley said that young children are refusing to drink water because they have been given fruit juice from an early age and added that many dentists are seeing parents who claim their children wont drink water because they are used to drinking fruit juice.

Harley said that most people are aware that eating sweets is bad for the teeth, but the message does not seem to be getting through about fruit juices. Fruit juice is very acidic, with a pH value of between 2 and 3 and the teeth are under attack when the pH in the mouth is lower than 5.

Harley stressed that this was a problem affecting all socio-economic groups and urged drinks manufacturers to display information about the effects of their product on dental health. Manufacturers often market their products as healthy, claiming they contain one or two portions of the recommended 5 per day, however, they gloss over the fact that the drinks have a high acidity level and are therefore harmful to tooth enamel.

A spokesperson from Innocent drinks company said that children’s drinks are sold with straws to direct the liquid into the back of the throat and claimed that drinking Innocent smoothies and drinks are an ideal way of ensuring children get their 5 a day.

 

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