With diet sodas earning a spot in the limelight this year, it seems like there’s no shortage of carbonated drinks to choose from. Unfortunately, soft drinks are packed with sugar and acidity that can erode tooth enamel, and while diet sodas are slightly less harmful, they still offer little to no nutritional value. But if you’re not ready to let go of carbonated beverages completely, a new study by the American Society for Nutrition suggests that sparkling water is a tooth-friendly alternative to sugary sodas.

How sparkling water affects your teeth

The reason soft drinks damage enamel is that they drastically change the mouth’s pH. When the mouth’s pH drops below 5.5, tooth enamel begins to dissolve. While sparkling water temporarily lowers our pH, the effect is significantly less pronounced than that of soda.

“Many people are switching from soda to sparkling water, and our findings suggest that unsweetened sparkling water may be a lower-risk alternative to soda, when consumed in moderation and alongside good oral hygiene practices,” explains Wajiha Zulfiqar, a nutrition science student at Purdue University who presented the research.

To identify how sparkling water affects tooth enamel compared to soda, researchers had 20 adults drink regular soda, regular sparkling water, calcium-fortified sparkling water, and still water. Each participant drank all four beverages, and researchers then measured the effect on their salivary pH.

They found that regular soda produced the most mouth acidity compared to the sparkling and still water samples. Both regular and calcium-fortified sparkling water caused a temporary drop in salivary pH, with calcium-fortified water showing a dip around the five-minute mark specifically. However, pH returned to normal within 20 minutes for both types of sparkling water. Although frequency of consumption, timespan, and sugar content are all factors that influence the effects of sparkling water, dental erosion appeared significantly less than traditional soda.

The case for drinking sparkling water instead of soda

Drinking soda in moderation typically doesn’t cause long-term health issues, but unsweetened sparkling water is a much healthier alternative for those hoping to curb their soda-drinking habits.

“Our results suggest that replacing sugar-sweetened sodas with unsweetened sparkling water may help lower the risk of enamel erosion,” Zulfiqar says. “The results also highlight an opportunity for the beverage industry to explore reformulation strategies that could potentially reduce the erosive potential of acidic beverages.”

So if you want to give up traditional sodas but still need an emotional support beverage, it’s better to reach for that can of sparkling water than a sugary soda.

Summary: sparkling water vs soda and teeth

Tips for protecting your teeth

Key takeaways

Sparkling water is a lower-risk alternative to sugary sodas when it comes to tooth enamel. While it does temporarily lower the mouth’s pH, the effect is short-lived and far less pronounced than that of regular soda. If you’re looking to cut back on soft drinks, unsweetened sparkling water is a smart swap — just remember to drink it in moderation and keep up with good oral hygiene.