Australian dental experts are calling for soft drinks to carry warning labels about tooth decay.
New research from the University of Adelaide has found that 56 per cent of children aged between five and 16 consume at least one sugary drink, such as a soft drink or juice, each day.
Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health senior research fellow Dr Jason Armfield, the lead author of the new study, said the results highlighted the role soft drinks play in tooth decay.
The research, the results of which were published on the American Journal of Public Health website, studied 16,800 Australian children and showed the number of decayed, missing or baby teeth with fillings was 46 per cent higher in children who had three or more sweet drinks a day than in those who consumed none.
“There’s a lot of problems that excess consumption may cause and these should be included as part of any potential warning package on sweet drinks,” Dr Armfield said.
“But the potential tooth decay caused by the drink’s high acidity and sugar content should be a focus.
“Consistent evidence has shown that high acidity of many sweetened drinks, particularly soft drinks and sports drinks, can be a factor in dental erosion, as well as the sugar itself contributing to tooth decay,” Dr Armfield said.
“If health authorities decide that warnings are needed for sweet drinks, the risk to dental health should be included.”
But Australian Beverages Council chief executive Geoff Parker believes that placing health warnings on soft drinks about the risk of tooth decay is ”way over the top”.
“’Teaching kids from early on about good dental hygiene practice is important. But singling out one particular part of the diet is a misguided approach to dealing with an issue such as dental hygiene,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Cancer Council has joined forces with Diabetes Australia and the National Heart Foundation of Australia in a campaign to tackle soft drink over-consumption, which it says is a key contributor to obesity in Australia.
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