Is lemon water good for your teeth?

Lemons are all the rage in the health and diet world these days. The health benefits of drinking water infused with lemon are being broadcast everywhere. They are a rich source of vitamin C, a detoxifying agent, and drinking lemon water in the morning maintains pH balance in the body.

But like everything else in life, you can have too much of a good thing and moderation is definitely key – well in the case of lemons.

Lemons are extremely acidic and what many may fail to realize is that they will erode tooth enamel over time.

“Anything that is acidic will demineralize your teeth,” says Ava Chow, an associate professor in dental hygiene at the School of Dentistry. Sports drinks, orange juice and soft drinks all fall into this category as well. “All of these drinks decrease the pH in your mouth and make your saliva more acidic. When the saliva is acidic, it will break down the enamel on your teeth.”

The sour flavour is what attracts most people to these acidic drinks, says Chow. She suggests drinking the beverage quickly and all in one sitting. This will help prevent enamel loss.

“Sports drinks are by far the worst beverage for your teeth. People sip on sports drinks for much longer, demineralizing teeth much more,” she says. “These three drinks also have significant amounts of sugar and the sugar will be metabolized by the bacteria in your mouth and as a by-product the bacteria produces acid too. This is in addition to the acidity of the drink already.”

Chow suggests drinking with a straw and rinsing your mouth after you consume an acidic drink.

“A straw will help bypass the teeth and will not expose them to acid. Rinsing your mouth with water afterwards will help restore the pH in your mouth,” she added.

And as far as lemon water goes, if you are going to drink an acidic beverage, lemon water doesn’t have the extra added sugar that soft drinks have – making it a somewhat better alternative.