Not lemon, not sparkling water: the drink dentists actually recommend sipping between meals

The glass on my desk used to be a revolving door. One week it was lemon slices and ice, the next it was fizzy water in a “hydration” bottle big enough to prop a door open. It felt virtuous: no cola, no syrupy squash, just “healthy” ways to keep sipping between calls.

Then, during a routine check-up, my dentist paused mid-exam and asked what I drank at my desk.

“Mostly sparkling water… sometimes with lemon,” I said, waiting for the gold star.

The star never came. Instead, there was a quiet sigh, a gloved finger tapping a small patch of softened enamel near my gum line. “If you really want something to sip all day,” she said, “you need something altogether more boring.”

That “boring” drink, according to most dentists I’ve since spoken to, is the one almost nobody posts on Instagram. Not lemon water. Not kombucha. Not the latest canned ‘functional’ fizz. Just still, plain water - ideally tap, sometimes fluoridated, occasionally with milk as a supporting act.

Why dentists are wary of ‘healthy’ sippers

The problem isn’t the sip. It’s the constant contact.

Every time you bathe your teeth in acid or sugar, the enamel softens slightly. Saliva steps in as your in-built repair crew, buffering the acid, bringing minerals, nudging the pH back to neutral. That recovery takes time: often 30–60 minutes.

Keep taking little mouthfuls of something acidic or sugary and that recovery window never really opens.

Lemon water seems gentle, but its pH can sit around 2–3 - closer to cola than you might think. Sparkling water is usually less acidic, yet still below neutral, and when it carries citrus or “natural flavourings”, the pH can drop further. Even if the label reads “no sugar”, your enamel still sees an acid bath.

“From a tooth’s point of view, a day of lemon water is a day of low-grade erosion,” says one London-based dentist. “It doesn’t feel dangerous because it’s not sweet.”

Fruit teas, apple cider vinegar shots, kombucha and vitamin waters live in a similar zone. They can be part of a reasonable diet, but they’re not designed for slow, casual sipping from breakfast to bedtime. Teeth don’t distinguish between fashionable acids and old‑school ones.

The quiet power of plain water (and when milk helps)

Plain still water looks almost disappointingly simple next to that line-up. That’s exactly why dentists love it.

It has no sugar to feed mouth bacteria, and no significant acidity to strip enamel. In the UK, much tap water also contains fluoride at naturally occurring or supplemented levels. That fluoride threads into your enamel crystals, making them a little harder, a little more resistant to the next acid wave.

Between meals, that’s the dream scenario: you keep your mouth moist, support saliva flow and let tiny remineralisation repairs happen in peace. Every sip helps wash away food debris, dilute acids and prevent the “sticky” mouth that encourages plaque build-up.

Milk often earns a quiet recommendation too, especially for children and older adults. It carries calcium, phosphate and, if fortified, vitamin D - all raw materials for strong teeth and bones. Its natural sugar, lactose, is less cariogenic than many others, and the buffering effect of protein and fat makes it far kinder to enamel than fruit juice or flavoured milks.

“If you want a drink that’s actually tooth-friendly, it’s still water first, then milk in sensible amounts,” my dentist summarised. “Everything else is better treated like food - taken in one go, not grazed all day.”

Why timing matters as much as what you drink

You can drink the same liquid two different ways and your teeth will live two different lives.

Scenario one: the slow grazer

You make a lemon-and-sparkling-water mix at 9am and sip it through Zoom calls until lunch. Each sip nudges the pH in your mouth down. Saliva starts to buffer, then another sip arrives. The enamel never quite gets back to neutral. Over months and years, that low-grade erosion can flatten the edges of teeth, expose yellow dentine and make your mouth more sensitive to hot and cold.

Scenario two: the short, sharp treat

You pour a small glass of the same drink, have it with lunch, then switch back to plain water. The tooth surface still softens briefly, but the exposure is time-limited. Saliva finishes the buffering job, minerals move back in, and the balance tilts towards repair instead of wear.

Dentists tend to talk about “acid attacks” on teeth. Each eating or drinking episode that brings sugar or acid counts as one attack. Cluster them together with meals and snacks and your mouth gets clear rest periods. Scatter them in tiny sips across the working day and it never really stands down.

So what does a tooth-friendly day of drinks look like?

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s to give your enamel more protected minutes than punished ones.

A dentist-approved pattern looks more like this:

• Between meals:

  • Plain still water as your default desk companion.
    
  • Occasional plain, unsweetened tea or coffee if you tolerate them (ideally not chain-sipping all day).
    

• With meals:

  • If you like fizzy water, juice or wine, have them with food rather than on an empty stomach.
    
  • Rinse your mouth with a few sips of plain water afterwards, or chew sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva.

• For children or those prone to decay:

  • Water between meals; milk with meals.
    
  • Keep fruit juices to small portions, ideally with food, not in a ‘sippy’ bottle on repeat.

Think of “tooth wear” drinks as you would pudding: enjoyable, but best in a defined moment, not a background soundtrack.

Sparkling water: is it really that bad?

Sparkling water deserves its own mention because it sits in a grey zone. Pure carbonated water, with no flavourings or added acids, is less of a villain than many posts suggest. Its pH is mildly acidic, but far friendlier than most soft drinks or citrus-infused waters.

The trouble starts when it comes with lemon, lime, berry or “natural citrus flavour”. Those often bring citric acid along, pulling the pH down further. The combination of daily frequency, prolonged sipping and that extra acid load nudges the balance from “probably fine” to “slowly wearing”.

If you love fizz, dentists usually suggest three tweaks rather than a permanent ban:

1. Keep it mostly with meals, not as an all-day habit.
2. Alternate with plain water, so your mouth has neutral breaks.
3. Don’t brush immediately afterwards; wait at least 30 minutes so softened enamel can reharden before you put bristles on it.

Plain tap water still wins for all‑day sipping, but a glass of unflavoured fizzy with dinner isn’t what tips most mouths into trouble.

Simple swaps that actually help your teeth

The good news is that the smallest, least glamorous changes tend to have the biggest effect over time.

Habit to tame	What’s going wrong	Dentist-friendly swap
Lemon slices in every water bottle	Frequent citric acid baths soften enamel	Fresh mint or cucumber slices in plain water
All-day fruit tea on your desk	Acidic, often sipped slowly for hours	Fruit tea with meals, plain water between
Constant “healthy” smoothies	Sugar and acid, long mouth contact	Smoothie as a snack, then rinse and switch to water
Fizzy drinks as your default	Sugar and/or acids, frequent hits	Reserve for meals; desk drink = still tap water

None of these swaps require new equipment, special filters or expensive bottled brands. What matters most is that what sits next to your keyboard, remote control or bedside table is boring enough that your teeth quietly approve.

How to build a water habit that doesn’t feel like a chore

If you’re used to flavoured drinks, plain water can taste flat at first. Dentists acknowledge this, even as they keep recommending it.

A few behaviour tweaks make the shift less bleak:

• Make it convenient, not heroic
  Keep a jug or large bottle of tap water on your desk or kitchen counter. If it’s in reach and already poured, you’re more likely to drink it than go hunting for something more exciting.

• Use light, tooth-safe flavour boosts
  Fresh mint, a slice of cucumber, a few crushed berries or a splash of cooled herbal tea can make water more appealing without dropping the pH too far. Go easy on citrus.

• Link sips to existing habits
  A few mouthfuls after finishing an email, climbing the stairs, or brushing your hair. Tiny, repeatable anchors add up over months more than one intense “hydrate more” resolution.

• Don’t chase ‘perfect’ intake
  You don’t need to force three litres. Aim for a steady trickle across the day, guided by thirst, urine colour and how you feel. Your teeth mostly care that what you sip is neutral, not that you’ve hit a magic number.

Over time, plain water stops feeling like a punishment and starts reading as background - a neutral, almost invisible support act your mouth quietly banks.

The drink that really does the least damage

After that appointment, I went back to my desk and, out of habit, reached for the bottle of lemon-and-fizz beside my keyboard. I noticed, for the first time, how often I took a thoughtless sip: before a call, after an email, whenever a document stalled.

I swapped it for a solid, unremarkable glass of tap water. No ice, no garnish, just something my dentist would call “neutral”. The day didn’t suddenly glow with health, but the change stuck, mostly because it was simple and required nothing more than leaving the lemon in the fridge.

Most of us search for the clever drink: detoxifying, energising, mood‑boosting. Teeth tend to thrive on the opposite - the quiet, plain option that doesn’t get headlines.

If there’s one thing dentists agree on for between meals, it’s this: let your enamel rest. Fill the resting time with still water, occasionally with milk at set moments, and enjoy everything else in short, deliberate bursts. Your mouth will notice the difference long before your Instagram does.

FAQ:

• Is room-temperature or cold water better for my teeth? From a dental point of view, it doesn’t matter. Choose the temperature that helps you drink enough. Very cold water can sometimes trigger sensitivity if enamel is already worn, but it doesn’t cause that wear on its own.
  
• Does adding a slice of lemon really make such a difference? Used occasionally, no. Used in every bottle, every day, it increases acid exposure significantly. Reserve citrus water for short windows, then rinse with plain water.
  
• Is bottled water safer for my teeth than tap water? Not usually. In many parts of the UK, tap water contains beneficial fluoride. Bottled waters vary and often lack it. Unless advised otherwise, tap water is generally fine - and tooth-friendly.
  
• What about sugar-free squash or diet fizzy drinks? They may be low in sugar but are often still acidic. They’re better as occasional drinks with meals than as all‑day sips.
  
• Should I brush straight after an acidic drink? No. Wait at least 30 minutes to allow enamel to reharden. In the meantime, sip plain water or chew sugar-free gum to boost saliva.