Acidic and basic are two extremes that describe chemicals, just like hot and cold are two extremes that describe temperature.
A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral. The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. It ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7, such as pure water is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic and greater than 7 is basic.
Each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value.
For example, a pH of 4 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 5 and 100 times (10 x 10) more acidic than a pH of 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more basic than the next lower whole value. The pH of the acid in dental plaque is 4; therefore it will dissolve enamel.
It is also worth keeping these values in mind if you have invisible braces such as Candid, Byte or Invisalign. If you’re still struggling to decide then read our comparison on Byte vs Candid.
| PRODUCT | pH |
|---|---|
| Soda | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| A&W Root Beer (can) | 4.75 |
| Diet A&W Root Beer | 4.53 |
| Barq’s Root Beer | 4.47 |
| Walgreens Root Beer | 4.34 |
| Mug Root Beer | 4.03 |
| Diet 7UP | 3.70 |
| Diet Coke (can) | 3.65 |
| Diet Mountain Dew | 3.36 |
| Sprite | 3.29 |
| Diet Coke | 3.28 |
| Mountain Dew | 3.22 |
| Diet Coke with Lime | 3.21 |
| 7UP | 3.20 |
| Coke Zero | 3.18 |
| Diet Dr. Pepper (can) | 3.16 |
| Big Red (can) | 3.07 |
| Slice Orange | 3.05 |
| Diet Pepsi | 3.03 |
| Mr. Pibb | 2.90 |
| Dr. Pepper (can) | 2.89 |
| Squirt | 2.89 |
| Fanta Orange | 2.73 |
| Pepsi | 2.53 |
| Coca-Cola | 2.52 |
| Cherry Coke | 2.52 |
| Coca-Cola CLASSIC | 2.50 |
| RC Cola (can) | 2.38 |
| Juices & Milk | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Borden Vitamin D Milk | 6.90 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Yoo-hoo | 6.01 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| V8 100% Vegetable Juice | 4.29 |
| Tropicana 100% Apple Juice | 4.05 |
| Crystal Light Sunrise Ruby Red Grapefruit | 3.81 |
| Minute Maid Orange Juice | 3.70 |
| Welch’s Concord Grape | 3.24 |
| Ocean Spray White Cranberry Peach | 2.96 |
| Food | |
| Blue Bell No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream | 7.02 |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Blue Bell Ice Cream Cantaloupe ‘n Cream | 6.56 |
| 1 Blue Bell No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream & Diet A&W Root Beer | 6.56 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Blue Bell No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream | |
| & Diet A&W Root Beer | 5.97 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Black Licorice | 5.05 |
| Tomato | 4.45 |
| Orange | 3.83 |
| Ice Breakers Sours Tropical | 2.43 |
| Lemon | 2.29 |
| Lime | 2.17 |
| Beer & Wine | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Budweiser | 4.38 |
| Bud Light | 4.33 |
| Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon | 3.59 |
| Sutter Home Merlot | 3.28 |
| Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc | 3.08 |
| PRODUCT | pH |
|---|---|
| Tea | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Red Diamond Sugar Free Decaffeinated Tea | 6.30 |
| Red Diamond Unsweet Tea | 6.01 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Nestea Sweetened Iced Tea | 4.50 |
| McAlister’s Iced Tea with Lemon | 3.67 |
| Diet Lipton Citrus Green Tea | 3.22 |
| Diet Lipton Lemon Iced Tea | 3.11 |
| Crystal Light Sugar Free Peach Tea | 3.05 |
| Lemon Brisk | 2.86 |
| Lemon Nestea | 2.96 |
| Coffee | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Coffee with Coffee-Mate Creamer The Original | 6.75 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Starbucks Caramel Latte | 6.36 |
| Starbucks White Mocha with Whole Milk | 6.30 |
| Starbucks White Mocha with Skim Milk | 6.26 |
| Black Coffee | 5.70 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Starbucks Regular | 4.85 |
| Acids | |
| Battery Acid | 0.00 |
| Hydrochloric, Sulfuric, and Nitric Acids | 0.00-1.00 |
| Stomach Acid | 1.50-3.50 |
| Phosphoric and Sulfamic Acid | 2.00 |
| Sports Drinks & Energy Drinks | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Monster Assault | 3.49 |
| Red Bull | 3.37 |
| Gatorade Fruit Punch | 3.27 |
| Propel Mango | 3.23 |
| Gatorade Lemon-Lime | 3.07 |
| Full Throttle Energy Drink | 2.94 |
| Gatorade Cool Blue | 2.92 |
| 5-Hour Energy | 2.81 |
| Powerade Red | 2.77 |
| Rockstar | 2.53 |
| Bottled Water | |
| Longview Tap Water | 8.25 |
| Evian | 8.10 |
| Music Mountain | 7.88 |
| Longview Regional | 7.71 |
| Fiji | 7.50 |
| Nestle “Pure Life” | 6.2-7.60 |
| Saliva | 7.40 |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Spring by Dannon | 6.40 |
| Dasani | 6.03 |
| Sam’s Choice | 5.90 |
| AquaFina | 5.67 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Deja Blue | 5.49 |
| Ozarka | 5.49 |
| Dasani Lemon | 3.48 |
| Fruit ² O | 3.10 |
| Mouth Wash | |
| NEUTRAL pH | 7.00 |
| Dentin dissolves below | 6.50 |
| Enamel dissolves below | 5.50 |
| Biotene Blue Label | 4.93 |
| Listerine | 4.24 |
| Crest ProHealth Rinse | 3.57 |
| Tom’s of Maine Tartar Control-Peppermint | 3.43 |