An expert warned about commonly eaten sour candies that may make your lips pucker, but may also damage your teeth.
Assistant professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine Nadine Tassabehji stated, “These candies combine two factors that increase mouth acidity and accelerate enamel erosion.”
All candies can damage your teeth, but sour ones pose a serious health threat to your oral health due to the presence of high acidic content, with tartaric, citric, malic, and fumaric acids.
Whenever you eat them, mouth acidity significantly increases, extracting out minerals such as potassium, and calcium from teeth and weekend enamel.
Sticky sour gummies make things even worse since they cling to teeth longer, Tassabehji added.
Despite this, sour candy sales have skyrocketed to 70% in the past decade, boosted by viral “sour candy challenges” on TikTok and YouTube.
Experts strongly advised to avoid these candies, but if you have already consumed them, then immediately brush your teeth, as that can spread acid and further damage enamel.
Instead, rinse with water, floss, or drink milk to neutralize acid, then wait 30 minutes before brushing with fluoride toothpaste.
“Sour candies are just sugar and water,” Tassabehji said. “Unlike sour foods like pickles or kombucha, they offer no health benefits — only damage.”
