Dr C: “It’s surprising what can rot your teeth”

Researchers say that drinking fruit teas and hot water with lemon erodes tooth enamel. Dr C agrees they’re rotten

Apparently, habitually sipping fruit teas and hot water with lemon can make people 11 times more likely to suffer with tooth decay. I’m not surprised, because every time I see my dentist he tells me off for drinking fruit juice between meals, and encourages me to drink through a straw, so the juice doesn’t touch my teeth.

WATCH THE ACID

We all know that fizzy drinks are bad for our teeth, but this new study has shown that it’s not just sugary pop we need to worry about. It might surprise you to hear that it also found that sipping lemon and hot water, swooshing wine around your mouth and eating similarly acidic snacks like salt and vinegar crisps – which can get trapped between the teeth – are all bad, too. If you think about it, when you drink hot water and lemon – so beloved by actress and health guru Gwyneth Paltrow – you’re basically supping warm acid, and nothing attacks tooth enamel like hot acid.

WAIT BEFORE YOU BRUSH

People have been convinced that they’re being healthy by having things like lemon and water, fresh juices made with lemon and ginger, and apple cider vinegar shots, but they are all damaging to teeth – particularly between meals. And you should never brush your teeth straight afterwards because your protective enamel is softened by the acid, so you’ll literally brush it off.

The research highlighted the sorts of people it can affect, including long-distance drivers who sip drinks for hours, gamers who drink or eat crisps as they play, and wine tasters who hold and swish wine in their mouths. I would add office workers to this list – they can easily sit at their desk sipping a drink or nibbling snacks, which can stick to the surface of their teeth for hours.

TWEAK YOUR HABITS

There are lots of media doctors out there, but few dentists, so we’re not really getting the message; 31 per cent of adults have tooth decay and almost a fifth more young people are having teeth removed now compared to four years ago.

With this in mind, it’s time to make some tweaks; only have juice with meals and sip water in between, chew gum after consuming anything acidic, and swap to green and black teas, which help prevent cavities.