Sports Drinks or Water from the Dental Perspective

Sports Drinks or Water from the Dental PerspectiveSports drinks are very popular today

The popularity of sports drinks (and energy drinks) has really exploded in the last ten years. Sports drinks contain large amounts of sugar and acid (in the form of citric acid) which can and do damage tooth enamel making teeth more susceptible to decay.

Gatorade was invented in 1965 by a medical team for the Florida Gators. It didn’t really become super popular until it was marketed heavily in the early 90’s.  Now, there are numerous sports drinks. It is estimated that 90% of athletes consume sports drinks and that 62% of teens and adolescents consume at least one sports drink every two days. Energy drinks (such as Red Bull) are becoming more and more popular with a 400% increase in popularity in the last ten years. Energy drinks are even more harmful than sports drinks in terms of acid and sugar.