Ever wonder what the pH level is in your food? This chart makes it easy to compare popular foods and their pH levels.

1. pHood for Thought

2. Have you ever…
thought about the pH of the foods you are eating? Or
better yet, what about the beverages you drink?

3. Chances are…
you answered “no”, and that’s fine…for now. I never
thought about pH outside of chemistry class until becoming
a hygienist.
As you may or may not remember, pH is a measurement of
how acidic a liquid is.

4. To give you a few reference
points, substances with a pH
under 7 are acidic (the lower the
number the more acidic), a pH of
7 is neutral (i.e. water) and
anything above 7 is considered
basic or alkaline.

5. So what? Why do we care?
When our teeth are in an acidic environment they begin to
lose minerals, or demineralize, leading to the formation of
cavities. The critical pH where this demineralization begins
to happen is at 5.5.

6. This means if you are sipping on an acidic beverage
throughout the day with a pH less than 5.5 such as coffee,
juice, or soda, you are increasing your risk of developing
cavities. I’m not saying you need to go cold turkey on your
Starbucks addiction (I am drinking my favorite latte as I
write this), but there are a few things you can do to help
counteract this risk factor.

7. #1:
Drink your coffee, sports drink, juice, soda, etc. in one
sitting. Sipping on an acidic beverage throughout the day
will prolong the period of low pH, but if you drink it in one
sitting your oral pH will dip below the threshold temporarily
and then be brought back up naturally by your saliva.

8. #2:
Avoid making your water unnecessarily acidic by adding
flavoring or lemon.

9. #3:
Snacking on cheese can help raise your oral pH, thus helping
to prevent cavities.

10. #4:
Use pH boosting spray or gum throughout the day after
snacks or coffee breaks to help keep your oral pH elevated.

11. If you’re interested…
in finding out the pH of your favorite drink, you can
purchase inexpensive testing strips or litmus paper. You
might be surprised to learn the pH of various dental rinses
or even bottled water you’ve been drinking!

12. Have any questions? Just ask!
Source: carifree.com/blog