These super sugary drinks don’t just ruin your smile. In the long run they can also lead to unhealthy weight gain, which increases the risk of serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart and kidney disease, stroke and 13 types of cancer.

Our teeth will be much stronger and healthier if we simply cut back on sugary drinks or remove them entirely from our diet.

Let’s unpack what we’re exposing our teeth to every time we take a sip from a sugary drink and uncover what we can do to save our smiles:

What actually happens to your teeth when you have a sugary drink?

• Tooth erosion (the wearing away of the tooth enamel) occurs when the acid in sugary drinks attacks the teeth, dissolving the outer surface of tooth enamel.
• Regular loss of enamel can lead to cavities and exposure of the inner layers of the tooth that may become sensitive and painful.
• Each acid attack brought on by sugary drinks lasts for around 20 minutes. Every time you take a sip of the drink, the acid damage begins all over again.

What can I do about it?

Cutting out sugary drinks altogether is best, but even reducing the amount you drink can make teeth much stronger and healthier.

Take the first step by finding out how much sugar and energy you consume from sugary drinks – it may surprise you.

Visit the Sugary Drinks Calculator

Join us in encouraging others to think twice before consuming sugary drinks and promoting water as the drink of choice. Check out our communications toolkit and start sharing Thirsty with the #rethinksugarydrink hashtag.

Here are our top tips for avoiding sugary drinks:

• Avoid going down the soft drink aisle at the supermarket and beware of the specials at the checkout and service stations.
• If you’re eating out, don’t go with the default soft drink – see what other options there are, or just ask for water.
• Carry a water bottle, so you don’t have to buy a drink if you’re thirsty.

Want more help? Here are more tips to help you cut back:

• Find out what sugary drinks are doing to your body
• Put your health first and try these three healthy drink alternatives
• Find out more about avoiding sugary drinks
• Discover the sneaky sugar in healthy drinks
• Check out more simple tips and changes to help avoid sugary drinks