Abstract

The potential erosive effect on teeth from different drinks is sometimes presented by the simple initial pH. Such measurements do not however, reveal the buffer capacity of the soft drinks and beverages, i.e their capacity to maintain a low pH in presence of neutralizing factors. The goals of this experiment were to measure initial pH and calculate the titrable acidity (TA) of 21 different drinks.

There was a substantial variation in the average value of the initial pH of different drinks. In general, the cola-sodas and the orange and lemon sodas had the lowest initial pH. There was also a wide variation in titrable acidity. Orange juice, red wine and white wine had the highest values of titrable acidity.

The differences can be caused by several factors, amongst others the content of different types of acids, and the addition of carbon dioxide. It can be useful to reconsider the ranking of the erosive potential of beverages by measuring the buffer capacity, in addition to the initial pH. There is, however, a need for standardization of the measurements of chemical characteristics of different soft drinks and beverages.