Health: Brush, Floss And Gargle ... With Root Beer?

Each year Americans drink, on average, nearly 600 cans of soda apiece. What does that do to their teeth? Professor J. Anthony von Fraunhofer of the University of Maryland Dental School decided to find out. Fraunhofer and dental student Matthew Rogers took 20 healthy teeth extracted for orthodontic or periodontal reasons, cut them into tiny blocks of tooth enamel and exposed the blocks to a variety of popular soft drinks, including Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, Sprite, Canada Dry ginger ale and canned Arizona iced tea. All the drinks weakened or permanently destroyed the enamel. Diet sodas were just as...