About Acid Erosion

The Causes of Acid Erosion

Having an acid-rich diet can put our teeth at risk of acid erosion and this can happen more easily than you might expect. As few as four acidic food or drink intake "occasions" throughout the day can put our enamel at risk from acid erosion.

What counts toward those daily acidic "occasions"? Surprisingly, it includes some of our healthier choices, like fruit, fruit juices, sparkling water with lemon.

Asian woman eating

How acidic are your favourite foods and drinks?

Knowing how acidic foods and drinks are can also help you protect your teeth from the effects of acid erosion. Is white wine more acidic than orange juice? Are apples more acidic than soda? Find out which of your favourite foods are more acidic than others in the chart to the right.

Glass of orange juice

High Acidity

Lemon Juice
Wine
Sports Drinks
Tonic Water
Red Cherries
Fizzy Soft Drinks, including diet drinks
Oranges
Plums
Blackberries, blueberries and strawberries
Grapefruit Juice
Pickles
Vinegar
Apple Sauce
Apple Juice and Apple Cider
Cranberries
Orange Juice
Tomatoes

Cup of tea in glass

Medium Acidity

Honey
Tomato Ketchup
Seedless Raisins
Beer
Apples
Green Olives
Pesto
Pears
Apricots
Figs
Carrot Juice
Tea (black)

Glass of water

Low Acidity

Bananas
Rye, wheat and white bread
Barley
Avocados
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Black Olives
Peanut Butter
Still Mineral Water

What is pH and how is it measured?

For chemists and scientists, pH is a scale between 1-14 on how acidic (pH < 7) or alkaline (pH > 7) something is. For people concerned about an acidic diet and acid erosion, the most important thing to know is this: the lower the pH number, the more acidic a food or drink is, and the more frequently it is consumed, the more harmful it may be to your tooth enamel.

For example, distilled water has a neutral pH of 7, while tomato juice might have a pH of 4 and lemon juice might have a pH of 2 - making the lemon juice the most acidic of the three.

Knowing the pH value of the foods we eat and the beverages we drink helps us have a clearer picture of how acidic our diet really is. And knowing the acidity of our diet is an important step in making sure we protect our tooth enamel from acid erosion. The rule of thumb is the lower the pH, the higher the acidity and therefore the higher the risk it may cause acid erosion.