The Washington Post reports (12/1) that researchers from Melbourne University Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre tested a wide range of sugar-free soft drinks, sports drinks and sweets and found that “many of them can be just as harmful to teeth as their sugared counterparts due to their chemical composition.” Researchers found that because these sugar-free beverages contain acids like phosphoric acid (found in colas) or citric acid (found mainly in lemon and lime flavored drinks) they can strip away a tooth’s out layer, leading to chalkiness of the tooths surface, pitting, opacity, tooth sensitivity and other issues. Researchers found that “most soft drinks and sports drinks caused dental enamel to soften 30-50%.”