Dental erosive potential of ready-to-drink and powdered sports drinks

Introduction
Dental erosion is a progressive chemical degradation of tooth substance in an acidic environment, which is unrelated to the presence of dental plaque. Dehydration induced by sport activities reduces protective salivary flow and its buffering capacity, which may aggravate the erosive effect of consumed acidic beverages. Objectives: To evaluate the erosive potential of ready-to-drink and powdered sports drinks.

Material and methods
Seven ready-to-drink sports beverages (Oshee, Isotonic Lemon Taste, Gatorade, Powerade, Isotonic Veroni, Isostar, and 4Move) and four prepared from powder (Isoactive, Race Isotonic Drink ALE, IsoPlus, and Isostar) were analysed. A 1% citric acid was used as a reference. Human enamel specimens (five per group) were exposed to the tested solution in a short pH-cycling model (1 min erosion – 5 min artificial saliva without mucin) repeated five times. Surface microhardness was measured before and after the pH-cycling using a Vickers indenter. A correlation between the pH of the drink and enamel softening was determined.

Results
All tested beverages decreased the enamel microhardness. Gatorade and Powerade had the lowest pH and exhibited the highest erosive potential, comparable with 1% citric acid. In general, the erosive potential of ready-to-drink beverages was higher than powdered drinks, except for Isostar. There was a significant negative correlation between enamel softening and the pH value of the drink (r = –0.55).

Conclusions
Sports drinks exhibit different erosive potential related to their pH. Patients frequently consuming these beverages should be aware of the potential risk for dental erosion.