As with most things fruit juice can be good for you and bad for you. It is good in some ways and bad in others. How much do you know about the pros and cons of fruit juice? Take your Des Moines Dentist, Dr. Stephen Burds’ true or false quiz below to find out.
True or False?
- T or F: Fruit juice is more nutritious than soda but can be more harmful to your teeth than soda.
- T or F: It’s the sugar in fruit juice that makes it bad for you.
- T or F: Certain fruit juices such as cranberry juice or lime juice are more acidic than vinegar.
- T or F: Orange juice, in particular, has been found to be especially bad for teeth.
Answers:
- True: Drinking one 4-ounce glass of fruit juice is the same as eating one full serving of fruit minus the fiber. One glass of orange or grapefruit juice contains more than your daily requirement of vitamin C, is an excellent source of folic acid, and potassium. Soda is empty calories. However, some juices contain more sugar than soda such as grape juice. It has 50 percent more sugar than Coca Cola.
- True: The harmful oral bacteria in your mouth exist on the leftover sugars and starches on your teeth and oral tissues. As the bacteria consume these sugars and starches they convert them into acids that cause tooth decay. If not removed this bacterial plaque builds up and hardens into tartar which can lead to periodontal disease and tooth loss. The high sugar count also causes weight gain.
- True: And the high acidity of these juices wears down tooth enamel causing tooth decay.
- True: An 84 percent reduction in the hardness of tooth enamel was measured during a study in which participants drank orange juice for five days in a row.
About your Des Moines Dentist
Contact your Des Moines dentist by calling Gateway Dental Group at (515) 244-9565. We welcome patients from River Bend, Kirkwood Glen, East Village, and neighboring communities.