Lay That Lemon Down

Lemon juice is rich in vitamin C, and doctors have recommended it at one time or another for rheumatism, colds, constipation, reducing. But some dentists last week sounded a warning: don't overdo it. Too much lemon juice may ruin your teeth.

Fifty patients had come to the Mayo Clinic complaining (among other things) of toothache and the gradual erosion of their front teeth. The dentists discovered that all of them had been addicted, for months or years, to lemon-sucking--or to an early morning drink of lemon juice and water. Some patients' teeth were worn down to the gums. Mayo's experts decided that their tooth enamel must have been eaten away by the citric acid in lemons.

At Columbia University's dental college, Dentist Daniel Ziskin has decided that concentrated lemon and grapefruit juice, both highly acid, do indeed soften tooth enamel. (Orange juice, less acid, seems to be safe.) But acid is not the only villain. The real damage is done by brushing acid-softened teeth with a stiff brush or gritty dentifrices. If not followed by too vigorous brushing, drinking diluted citrus juices once a day is perfectly all right, says Ziskin.

Nonetheless, the Mayo men, noting that more & more people are drinking lemon juice, believe that concentrated lemon drinks should be discouraged as a daily habit.

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