Prepare to be put off drinking one of these popular drinks after seeing a dentist's viral experiment that shows what they do to your teeth, and the health professional told Newsweek his recommendations to limit possible damage.
Dr. Miles Madison, based in Beverly Hills, California, uses four extracted human teeth and soaks them in cola, coffee, red wine, and tea for ten days. Then he uncovers the wisdom teeth, which were placed under a coffee cup.
In the Instagram footage (@drmilesmadison), he states the results "shocked" him, as red wine did the most damage, staining the whole tooth, including the root and enamel.
He told Newsweek via email: "Red wine is acidic and highly pigmented. The acid demineralizes the tooth enamel, which then allows the dark pigments from wine to penetrate into the tooth, causing the staining."
Madison, who goes by "the gumfather" online, racked up 933,000 views on the clip.
He told Newsweek that the wisdom teeth were extracted from the same patient to closely reflect how natural teeth react to the beverages.
Coffee made the tooth "significantly darker—especially the root surface that doesn't have as much mineral as the enamel."
Tea stained the tooth but "not as bad," says Madison in the video, who then lets out a "whoa" as he shows the cola-stained tooth. This tooth was not only stained to almost black but it had "little pits" because the acid had eaten away at the enamel and part of the root structure.
"Most colas are acidic and the ones with dark pigments can cause stains," he told Newsweek.
Newsweek was unable to independently verify the results of the gumfather's tests.
"I recommend moderate consumption of these beverages, rinsing with water immediately after enjoying one, and trying not to sip them for longer than 15 minutes at a time," he said.
He also encourages professional cleanings every six months to remove the superficial stains and prevent them from penetrating deeper into the tooth enamel.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey has revealed that 63 percent of adults aged 18 or older reported drinking sugar-sweetened beverages once daily or more between 2010 and 2015. Sugary drinks include regular soda, sweetened fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, and sweetened coffee/tea drinks.
The gumfather's findings have left his audience in shock, but in true social media fashion, some users have made light of the December 29 experiment in the comments.
"I am switching to tequila!" said one comment with 453 likes.
Other users have expressed how they aren't surprised. A third commenter wrote: "Not surprised with the red wine … look at what it does to lips when someone's had a few glasses!"
"And that's why I only drink water," said a fourth user.
Newsweek has reached out to Coca-Cola for a comment.
