Laboratory / cell studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-SOD-112 standard review
Sparkling mineral water barely affects tooth enamel
Investigation of mineral waters and soft drinks in relation to dental erosion.
Overview
Parry J et al.. J Oral Rehabil 2001 · PMID 11556958 · DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2842.2001.00795.x
In laboratory tests, sparkling mineral waters dissolved tooth enamel about 100 times less than soft drinks.
Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: moderate
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Compare tooth-dissolving potential of waters and soft drinks.
- How was the study done?
Laboratory tests on extracted teeth.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
Not applicable.
- What was actually found?
Mineral waters were barely erosive; carbonation added little.
- How large was the observed effect?
~100x less dissolution than soft drinks.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Plain sparkling water is much kinder to teeth than soft drinks.
- What are the study's limitations?
Laboratory only.
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Contradicts a blanket ban on sparkling water.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Applicable.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Cannot predict effects in every mouth.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Parry J et al.
- Journal
- J Oral Rehabil
- Year
- 2001
- Identifier
- PMID 11556958 DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2842.2001.00795.x
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26 + Crossref 2026-10-26
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
Not stated in abstract record
2. Research question
What is the erosive potential of still and sparkling mineral waters compared with soft drinks?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Laboratory / cell study – In vitro dissolution assays with extracted human teeth and hydroxyapatite
- Population
Extracted human teeth; powdered hydroxyapatite
- Country
United Kingdom
- Period
2001
- Sample size
Not applicable
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Not applicable
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Still and sparkling mineral waters
- Comparator
Soft drinks
- Endpoints
Mineral dissolution
- Statistical methods
Laboratory comparisons
5. Actual results
- Results
Dissolution with all mineral waters was very low (undetectable for several still waters). Sparkling waters showed slightly greater dissolution than still waters but about one hundred times less than comparator soft drinks. De-gassing reduced dissolution, but levels were low, suggesting carbonation per se is not an important erosive factor.
- Absolute risks
not applicable
- Authors' conclusion
Mineral waters appear to offer a safe alternative to more erosive acidic beverages.
6. Strengths
- Direct comparison of sparkling water and soft drinks
- Human enamel
7. Weaknesses
- In vitro; no saliva or clinical outcomes
- Funding not stated in abstract
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- not assessable
- Rationale
Laboratory study.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Order-of-magnitude difference (~100x) is robust to typical laboratory variability.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Contradicts C-SOD-14 for teeth: plain sparkling mineral water has very low erosive potential compared with soft drinks.
11. Independent contrary findings
Flavoured sparkling waters with added acids can be erosive (Parry 2007, not added).
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Applicable.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Carbonation itself contributes little to erosion; acids in soft drinks are the main factor.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | moderate |
| Risk of bias | not assessable |
| Precision of results | not applicable |
| Directness | indirect |
| Reproducibility | partly replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | high |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
Clinical studies of plain sparkling water and erosion.
15. Linked fact checks
- All carbonated waters of every kind (including unsweetened sparkling water) are harmful and must be avoided. – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim