A dentist who has worked to raise awareness of the damage done to teeth by fizzy drinks has launched a petition to create a traffic light system on all fizzy drinks to show their levels of acidity.

Over the past 12 months, Dr Sandra Ferreira has seen an increase in the number of people who have damaged their teeth due to fruit juices and fizzy drinks.

Dr Ferreira has created a petition to send to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, calling for a traffic light system showing acidity in fizzy drinks, similar to the system for foods.

If successful, each bottle of fizzy drink sold would show its pH level and raise awareness of the damage it will do to teeth.

Dr Ferreira said that “It’s important to show the pH because of the damage that it can do teeth, and if they have the information people can make a decision.”

Speaking of when she sees people with acid erosion, Dr Ferreira stated that “when I tell them the acidity of their drink they always say ‘I didn’t know that’. The traffic light system on food works with me as it is very clear. Something similar is needed for drinks.”

“Erosion is the loss of tooth enamel by acid attack,” she explained. “The enamel is the hard outer layer of the tooth, the inner layer, which makes the bulk of the tooth, is softer and is called dentine.”

Anything with a pH lower than 6.5 will erode the dentine, and anything with a pH of lower than 5.5 will erode the enamel. Although saliva can neutralise the acids, after drinking acidic drinks it takes a full hour for our teeth to fully recover their protection; the more acidic it is, the longer it takes for the teeth to recover.

Dr Ferreira also advised people to eat cheese to neutralise acids, and not to brush teeth immediately after having a fizzy drink, as the softened enamel could be accidentally brushed off.