This subject is one that hits close to home. While I do not crave sugar or have a "sweet tooth" like some people do, I do enjoy the occasional soda. In my life, soda is the major contributor of sugar in my diet.  Although it may be soda for me, it can be many types of drinks introducing sugar into our daily lives from coffee to energy drinks. 

It's so easy for soda, or any other type of drink, to become a daily habit in our lives - when we go out to dinner, when we're at a sporting event, when we're at a celebration.  The unfortunate truth is that it is not a healthy habit, for our teeth or our overall wellness.  Tooth decay, or a cavity as most people call it, is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting people today.  It's not difficult to understand how this could be when we stop to think about the amount of advertising and marketing that goes into all the beverage choices we have.  Almost everywhere we go we are surrounded by drink options with high sugar content.

Even with proper tooth brushing and flossing, it may not be enough to prevent dental decay based upon our daily drinking habits.  Every time we drink a beverage like a soda, a coffee, or an energy drink it lowers the pH of our mouth to an acidic level.  This dip to an acidic level causes our teeth to weaken and become prone to cavities.  Even if you have one 12 oz. soda a day, it typically has more sugar in that one can than is recommended for a whole day in a healthy diet.

So let's be wise in our decisions with what we are drinking and how frequently we are drinking them.  If you have a sugary drink, try to limit the amount of time you're drinking it to 20 minutes or less and follow up with water.