A new study has claimed that drinking acidic fruit tea is not that good for your dental health. The study carried out by researchers at the King's College London has found that acid content in fruit tea could damage your teeth, wearing away the enamel, and will finally raise the risks of filling and crowning.
The study is published in the British Dental Journal.
During the study, researchers analyzed the diets of 300 people with severe erosive tooth wear. According to the research, the problem of teeth erosion is more among people who snacked more. The researchers made it clear that it is not just fruit tea, but other beverages including fruit squashes, cordials, and diet drinks are all contributing for tooth decay. They said the chances of teeth erosion will be more if these drinks are continuously sipped or hold in the mouth before swallowing.
"If you drink things for long periods of time, greater than five minutes, or if you play with things in your mouth or if you nibble on fruit over a few minutes rather than eating them as a whole fruit - these are things that can really damage your teeth. If you're going to have an apple as a snack at lunchtime, then try not to have anything acidic later on in the evening. If you are going to have a glass of wine in the evening, then don't have your fruit tea in the morning," said Dr Saoirse O'Toole, lead author of the study, BBC reports.
Saoirse O'Tool also asked everyone to balance things in the diet to reduce the tooth decay.
The researchers also revealed that even a glass of hot water with a slice of lemon is dangerous for teeth, as it contains six times the citric acid concentration of lemonade. The study also indicated that sugar-free soft drinks are as erosive as sugar-sweetened ones. It should be noted that pickled products are also responsible for teeth erosion.
Experts are now recommending people to take black tea or green tea to improve their overall wellbeing including dental health.
