Most especially, it’s bad for your children. The research is clear, soda is bad for you. More specifically, whereas a Coke will erode your teeth at a rate 55-65 times greater than water, Mountain Dew is two to five times worse than that. That is, not only is soda bad for you, but some soda is worse for you than others. Is this connection between soda and oral health correct?Ī limited 2006 study by von Fraunhofer found that “cola drinks dissolved enamel 55-65 times more than both water and root beer.” Similarly, “enamel dissolution in canned iced tea was some 30 times greater than that produced by brewed black tea and coffee.” Speaking directly to Mountain Dew, which was categorized with similar drinks and called non-Cola, the study said that, “The enamel dissolution was two to five times greater among non-cola drinks than among cola beverages.” Thus, the coining of the term ‘Mountain Dew mouth.’Īs a brief aside, the first use of ‘Mountain Dew mouth’ was apparently in Diane Sawyer’s 2009 documentary, Children of the Mountains. The common answer: Mountain Dew and other soda. What has caused this disparity? This is a tough question. Studies conducted by the state government of Ohio have found a similar relationship between Appalachian counties there and their non-Appalachian counterparts - a 59-percent higher rate in dental caries, among the former. On average, we’re talking about a 14–15 percent difference in tooth decay cases. They found that there is indeed a wide and dramatic disparity between the dental health of children in Appalachian counties as compared to Non-Appalachian counties in the state. In a 2015 paper, authors Kim, Manz, and Weyant collected data from a statewide, school-based survey based here in Pennsylvania. No matter, the disproportionate occurrence of tooth decay and tooth loss in the Appalachian region has been confirmed by others too. Unfortunately, I personally cannot access Harris’ brief and I’m not sure whether Singer’s figures come from Harris’ paper or from another source entirely.
Dana Singer is a research analyst whose research she dedicates to a long battle against heavily sugared drinks.
Harris refers to Pricilla Harris, who in 2009 published a legal brief that explored the depths of the region’s, my region’s, affinity with carbonated beverages. That’s according to calculations by Singer, who is working with Harris,” writes Eliza Barclay, at NPR. “Some 26 percent of preschoolers in the region have tooth decay, and 15 percent of 18- to 2-year-olds have had a tooth extracted because of decay or erosion.
“Mountain Dew mouth” has turned into a word of shame, and to me that signals just how little understanding there is of the problem. It’s about a people with inadequate access to affordable dental care, or who have otherwise lost their faith in dental care or whatever anyone has to offer them. It’s about a part of American society that has gone forgotten. “Mountain Dew mouth” is about so much more than soda pop. There is no denying the costs of consuming soda. Are there more pieces to the puzzle, though?
Soda is harmful, and it can damage your teeth in many ways, just like it can do harm to other parts of your body. In the dental world, this problem of “Mountain Dew mouth” is often used (rightly or wrongly) to hammer down on the evils of soda and the harm it can do to us. It has also come to define debates around decisions with far-reaching consequences for the Appalachian region - where disproportionately bad oral health has given form to the term and to what it stands for. “Sugar kills,” reads the headline, as the article then proceeds to lecture us on the harm of sugar and soda, using “Mountain Dew mouth” as the emphasis of the argument.
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