ABSTRACT
Introduction: Soft drink consumption has risen significantly and is associated with dental erosion. The acid contained in soft drinks contributes to a low pH, much below the critical pH of 5.5, which can lead to a loss in dental enamel hardness. Objective: To determine the difference in microhardness values after immersion in soft drinks containing citric acid and phosphoric acid. Methods: Thirty maxillary premolar teeth were mounted and divided into 3 groups (N=10). Group A: regular cola drink, group B: light cola drink, and group C: artificial saliva. Immersion was carried out with a total time of 25 hours and divided into 5 hours a day. The samples would be immersed in artificial saliva if did not receive any treatment. Vickers microhardness study was used to evaluate enamel hardness with 500 g loads for 5 seconds. Data were analyzed by paired t-test and one-way ANOVA test. Results: The average hardness of dental enamel after immersion in the cola drink: 297.81 ± 39.46, in the light cola drink: 285.37 ± 24.43, and in the artificial saliva: 332.65 ± 30.19. There was a difference in the hardness of dental enamel before and after the treatment (p<0.05). Conclusion: Both soft drinks have low pH resulting in decreased microhardness value, and the microhardness value of enamel immersed in light cola was lowest.
