Fizzy drinks, what's the issue?

[Macrodatarefiner]

Genuine question, I get coke might be something people would rather their kids didn't drink a lot of. But plain sparkling water? Why do so many people disapprove or forbid their kids from going near them.

They drink sparkling water routinely in Germany over tap water & doesn’t seem to cause a problem.

it’s contact with plaque that causes decay so anyone sipping sugary fizzy drinks over a day runs the risk of lots of decay /fillings.

Ha Ha - it didn’t sound snippy to me!

I’m not like that re biscuits and things I promise! I know the word “treat” is grating but I couldn’t think of a better word.

the water from my tap tastes of chlorine.

Who knows? Anyone with sense😅

Cant believe you’re even entertaining that.

Carbonated drinks erode the enamel on the teeth regardless of how acidic they are when consumed in large enough quantities.
It’s not just carbonated drinks though, I always remember my dentist telling me about the massive increase in enamel erosion due to protein powder drinks and people not dissolving the powder properly.

She sounds intelligent.

Interesting to read some of these replies - I was told years ago that it was the acidity of fizzy drinks that affected the teeth, rather than sugar. I drank a lot of sugar-free fizzy drinks as a student and since then I’ve had a few fractured teeth, the dentist blamed the drinks. It was about 15 years ago so I had no idea about the more recent studies.

I hate anything that sparkles as I choked on fizzy Epsom salts when I was a kid !

Water doesn’t taste of ‘nothing’, the tap water here tastes horrible like chlorine bleach, it’s revolting. I don’t like the taste of any type of water.

i can tolerate hot water but it still doesn’t taste of nothing (to me).

I also should have said that I think juice is a million times worse for teeth and bodies than fizzy drinks. That’s not backed up by research and maybe slightly exaggerated also.

Sounds like a myth to me. I live in Germany and a lot of children like "Sprüdelwasser" aka fizzy water.

A lot of high sugar drinks like coke, fizzy orange etc will have high acid content because the sourness combined with the sweet is what gives it the good taste. So it's worth avoiding overly sweet drinks because the combination of acid eroding enamel and sugar feeding the plaque-creating bacteria is very bad for your teeth. But they are OK to have in moderation.

Sparkling water is very slightly more acidic than still. But much closer to neutral than orange juice or lemonade for example.

World Health Organisation - tooth decay WHO tooth decay
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sugars-and-dental-caries

A former colleague’s daughter had bad tooth erosion from drinking too much fruit juice. They were giving it to her to drink multiple times a day thinking the vitamins etc were good for her and not realising that the naturally occurring sugars would also cause erosion and decay.

Not really, because you have to breathe air, you can't really stop yourself.

You have a choice whether to drink or not. Yes, you'll get dehydrated if you drink too little, but it's not like you have to be drinking every second of the day like breathing.

Nothing is good for the enamel, fgs! What a load of nonsense!

I took the enamel off my teeth by drinking too many fizzy (low cal) drinks when I was younger, according to my dentist at the time.

Maybe the problem is that many people don't actually drink sparkling water on its own - its often mixed with sugary cordial or they add orange or lemon which are acidic and bad for the teeth.

I hate our tap water, it tastes like chlorine. I sniff it and think no thanks.

I do drink tea at home - tap water flavour is disguised. I do drink fizzy water with ginger cordial a lot though.

My main dislike is diet drinks where sugar is replaced by sweeteners. Sweeteners in general are a bugbear of mine. Coke is not good for your body, but I am sure sweeteners are not something anyone should be imbibing.

It's certainly not good for teeth and drunking lots of it isn't great, but how on earth is natural fruit juice going to be worse for your body than things like Coke, which are full of all kinds of artificial crap?!

Zero sugar drinks are still bad for your teeth. A quick Google shows:

Sugar-free drinks, like diet sodas, energy drinks, and citrus juices, are often high in acids like citric, phosphoric, and tartaric acid. These acids can weaken tooth enamel, making teeth more susceptible to cavities and erosion.

My DS would not touch anything fizzy.

Interestingly I noted at parties I hosted in absence of parents that girls tended to go instantly for the fizzy option while boys almost always insisted on the still option.

Some kids just genuinely don't like it.

I personally see nothing wrong with it and in Germany, where I currently live, it’s extremely common.

However, when my father visited he called it ‘a gateway drink’ alluding to the fact he did not approve that I allow my children to drink it and soon they will want to drink other fizzy drinks….

www.bbc.com/future/article/20150911-is-sparkling-water-really-bad-for-you

It's very weak evidence that sparkling water is bad. It is a weak acid unlike tap water so perhaps, as with most things, it's fine in moderation but stick to still for most your water consumption

It's the sugar in Coke, Fanta, etc. that gets kids hooked.

There's none in fizzy water.

From my anecdata it’s the other way round 😆 ds and his male friends are more likely to ask for fizzy drinks

It is better not to routinely offer fizzy drinks and model the same behaviour as they just aren’t very good for your teeth or body.

Same. My teeth are in excellent nick despite years of fizzy water drinking.

Sugar is the enemy.