3 Drinks to Skip When Packing Your Cooler This Summer

There is a particular ritual to packing a cooler before a beach day: sandwiches wrapped, ice packed around the edges, snacks tucked into every gap, and drinks chosen mostly based on what sounds refreshing in the heat. Few people think about how those drink choices will affect their teeth hours later. But a single beach day, repeated throughout a Southern California summer, adds up to a meaningful amount of cumulative exposure to ingredients that are quietly hard on enamel.

La Jolla is practically built around beach days. La Jolla Shores, Windansea, the Cove, and the tide pools near Children’s Pool all draw locals and visitors throughout the warmer months. As a La Jolla dentist who sees the long-term effects of summer habits on patients’ smiles, Dr. Grey Cunningham at Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of La Jolla has a simple list of three drinks worth reconsidering before they make it into the cooler, along with what to bring instead.

1. Sports Drinks

Sports drinks are marketed as hydration tools, and for serious athletes engaged in prolonged intense exercise, they do serve a purpose. For the average beach day, however, they bring two significant downsides: high sugar content and notable acidity. Most popular sports drinks have a pH between 2.9 and 3.5, acidic enough to begin softening tooth enamel on contact. Combine that with sugar content that rivals soda, and you have a drink that simultaneously feeds decay-causing bacteria and weakens the enamel those bacteria are attacking.

The way sports drinks are typically consumed makes the problem worse. Sipping slowly over hours, exactly how most people drink from a cooler at the beach, means the mouth stays in a low-pH state for an extended period, giving enamel little chance to recover between exposures.

Better swap: Coconut water provides natural electrolytes with significantly less sugar and a less acidic profile, or simply pack water with electrolyte tablets you can dissolve as needed.

2. Citrus-Flavored Sparkling Water

This one surprises people. Flavored sparkling waters have built a reputation as the “healthy” alternative to soda — zero sugar, zero calories, refreshing on a hot day. From a dental standpoint, though, citrus-flavored sparkling waters are often nearly as acidic as soda itself. The combination of carbonation (carbonic acid) and citrus flavoring (citric acid) creates a pH that can sit in the 3.0 to 3.5 range — squarely in the zone where enamel erosion begins.

The absence of sugar means these drinks do not contribute directly to the bacterial side of decay, but enamel erosion is a separate process entirely — and one that, once it happens, cannot be reversed. Sipped throughout a long beach afternoon, the cumulative acid exposure is real.

Better swap: Plain sparkling water, or sparkling water with a small amount of fresh mint or cucumber rather than citrus, provides the same refreshing fizz without the acid load.

3. Frozen Margaritas and Daiquiris in Cans

Ready-to-drink frozen cocktails have become a fixture of beach coolers across San Diego County, and they bring together nearly every factor that is hard on teeth in a single can: high sugar content, significant acidity from citrus juice and mixers, alcohol’s dehydrating effect on saliva production, and a slushy, ice-heavy texture that often leads to chewing the ice itself.

The dehydration piece matters more than people realize. Saliva is the mouth’s primary natural defense against acid and bacteria. It buffers pH and helps redeposit minerals into enamel. Alcohol consumption, especially in the heat where dehydration risk is already elevated, reduces saliva flow precisely when the mouth needs it most to manage the sugar and acid from the drink itself.

Better swap: If alcohol is part of the plan, choose a drink with less sugar and citrus, a simple spirit with soda water, for example, and alternate with plain water throughout the day to support hydration and saliva production.

General Tips for Beach-Day Drink Choices

• Pack plenty of plain water as the default — it should make up the majority of what is in the cooler
• If you do have an acidic or sugary drink, finish it within a shorter window rather than sipping for hours
• Rinse with water after acidic or sugary drinks — it helps restore a more neutral pH faster
• Avoid chewing ice from any cooler drink — combined with sun-warmed teeth and cold ice, the thermal shock increases the risk of enamel cracking
• Wait at least 30 minutes after acidic drinks before brushing if you happen to have a travel toothbrush — brushing immediately after acid exposure can abrade temporarily softened enamel

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is it really that big a deal for one beach day?

A: One occasion is unlikely to cause noticeable damage on its own. The concern is cumulative — for those who spend a significant portion of the summer at the beach, the repeated exposure adds up in the same way that any habitual dietary pattern affects long-term oral health.

Q: Does drinking through a straw help?

A: For acidic drinks, a straw positioned toward the back of the mouth can reduce direct contact with the front teeth, which is helpful. It does not eliminate the exposure entirely, since the liquid still circulates throughout the mouth, but it is a reasonable harm-reduction step.

Q: Are diet sodas any better than regular soda for teeth?

A: Diet sodas remove the sugar but retain similar acidity, meaning the enamel erosion risk is comparable. They are an improvement from a decay standpoint but not from an erosion standpoint.

Q: I think my enamel may already be eroded from years of this. What can be done?

A: Enamel erosion itself cannot be reversed, but its effects include sensitivity, thinning, discoloration. Can often be addressed with bonding, veneers, or other restorative options depending on severity. A consultation with Dr. Cunningham can determine what is appropriate for your specific situation.

Enjoy the Summer — Just Pack Smart

A few small adjustments to what goes in the cooler can make a real difference over the course of a San Diego summer. If it has been a while since your last checkup, or if you have noticed increased sensitivity after a season of beach days, Dr. Grey Cunningham and the team at Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of La Jolla are here to help. Schedule your visit today.

**Disclaimer: This content should not be considered medical advice and does not imply a doctor-patient relationship.