If this isn’t enough to get you off of the stuff, take a look at this...

Millions of dieters who don’t want to give up the carbonated drinks rely heavily on diet soda, but studies have determined that these sodas are extremely bad for the teeth.

The new study, published in the journal General Dentistry, explains that the phosphoric acid in soda, without proper dental hygiene, can be as damaging to your teeth as meth or crack cocaine.  Yikes!

"You look at it side-to-side with 'meth mouth' or 'coke mouth,' it is startling to see the intensity and extent of damage more or less the same," Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny, a professor of restorative dentistry at the Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, told Health Day News.

Dr. Bassiouny went on to explain the meth and crack are highly acidic, just like diet soda.

The study included a woman in her 30s that drank 2 liters of diet soda every day for three to five years.  They then compared her teeth to a 29 year old meth addict  as well as a 51 year old crack addict.  Disturbingly the levels of tooth rot and decay were quite similar, however, the woman admitted that she had not been to the dentist in years.

Erosion gets the best of teeth making them soft and discolored.  Ultimately all of her teeth were removed and replaced with dentures.  I think you would have to pay me a great deal of money to undergo that kind of experiment.  "None of the teeth affected by erosion were salvageable," Bassiouny said.

Both the meth addict and crack cocaine users had to have all of their teeth removed as well.  According to Health Day News, these drugs also reduce the amount of saliva in the mouth, making it difficult for the acids to wash away.

While the results may seem staggering, representatives for the American Beverage Association argue that it’s unlikely soda was the single culprit for the woman’s tooth decay.

"The woman referenced in this article did not receive dental health services for more than 20 years -- two-thirds of her life," the American Beverage Association said in a statement. "To single out diet soda consumption as the unique factor in her tooth decay and erosion -- and to compare it to that from illicit drug use -- is irresponsible.”

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