# Sour Candy = Battery Acid **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 5, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631 "2009-02-05T22:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/1 "2009-02-05T22:16:57Z")
I posted a question about citric acid in GQ because I’ve discovered a totally addicting sour candy, very intense. No one had much of an answer. Initially I was concerned about my guts, but I’ve done some research after noticing, in a very short period of time since starting with the candy, that my TEETH are suddenly sensitive. Well, for sour candy freaks like me: WATCH OUT. Apparently citric acid, especially in such concentrations as what is found in sour candy, is like pouring battery acid on your teeth (My new fave isn’t listed, Xtreme Smarties, but they are like Sweetart Shockers x 3 - I’m sure they would be as bad as the worst of the following): Acid Levels in Popular Sour Candies Acid (pH) Low = Bad **Water (neutral) 7.0** Loss of tooth enamel 4.0 Spree® 3.0 Sweetarts® 3.0 Big Stuff Pacifier® Sucker 3.0 Sour Gummi Bears® 3.0 X-treme Airheads® 3.0 Sour Punch Straws® 2.5 Shockers® 2.5 Skittles® 2.5 Baby Bottle Pop® Powder 2.5 Brach’s Gummi Bears® 2.5 Sqwigglies Gummi Worms® 2.5 Wonka Laffy Taffy® 2.5 Starburst® 2.4 Sweet Tarts Shock® 2.4 Lemon Heads® 2.4 Mentos® Fruit Chew 2.4 WarHeads® Sour Rips Roll 2.3 Lollipop Paint Shop® 2.2 Zours® 2.2 Sour Skittles® 2.2 Airheads® Cherry Chew 2.0 Wonka Nerds® Grape 2.0 Now and Later® Cherry Chew 1.9 Too Tart Extra Sour Goo® 1.9 Wonka Pixy Stix® Powder 1.9 Altoids Mango Sours® 1.9 - my new faves are more intense than this! Wonka Fun Dip® Powder 1.8 WarHeads Sour Spray® 1.6 \*\*Battery acid 1.0 \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/2 "2009-02-06T03:46:58Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Well, for sour candy freaks like me: WATCH OUT. Apparently citric acid, especially in such concentrations as what is found in sour candy, is like pouring battery acid on your teeth. I don’t believe this one bit. The concentrations once it mixes with spit are pretty low. Plus, citric and sulfuric acid cannot be compared like that. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but even if the pH is the same, don’t strong acids have a much stronger affinity for H[sup]+[/sup] or OH[sup]-[sup] ions (i.e. citric \< sulfuric \< nitric)? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/3 "2009-02-06T04:54:00Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > I don’t believe this one bit. The concentrations once it mixes with spit are pretty low. Plus, citric and sulfuric acid cannot be compared like that. > > Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but even if the pH is the same, don’t strong acids have a much stronger affinity for H[sup]+[/sup] or OH[sup]-[sup] ions (i.e. citric \< sulfuric \< nitric)? I wish you were right. But… > [@](#): > > An article in the March/April 2008 issue of Northwest Dentistry, the Minnesota Dental Association’s dental journal, introduces new information about the specific risks of sour candy consumption. **Although numerous studies have shown the erosive potential of soft drinks, fruit** juices, and sports drinks, the authors believe that there should be growing concern over the preponderance of low pH candies marketed toward children and the candies’ potential for contributing to a pattern of occlusal enamel erosion, particularly on posterior teeth. > > John Ruby, DMD, PhD, a pediatric dentist and associate professor at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Dentistry, believes that the combination of extremely low pH candies, immature tooth enamel, and a high frequency of ingestion are causing serious harm to children’s teeth. Dr. Ruby recently tested the pH levels of many popular sour candies, and the results were startling. Most of the fruit-flavored candies had lower pH levels than any of the soft drinks previously studied. The common “sour” flavoring agent in these products is **citric acid, the most erosive dietary acid**. > > Erosion from acidic solids, such as candy, manifests mainly on the occlusal surface of posterior teeth with smooth, glazed enamel, “cupping” of cusp tips on posterior teeth and the impression of “raised” restorations from a loss of the surrounding enamel. The critical pH for enamel dissolution is 5.5; however, due to the modifying effects of the oral cavity, exposure to acidic foods and beverages with pH values below 4 can result in dental erosion. Each of the tested candies fell below this critical value. It’s a massive bummer, because I LOVE these candies. It’s like a freaky torture thing, the way some people love really hot food. And please note, I was prompted to do this reasearch by a direct correlation between eating these candies every day for about a week, which caused very intense rawness on my tongue after just a handful of small candies (whcih are very powdery, like sweetarts only softer) and a very sudden, rapidly spreading and intensifying sensitivity in my teeth. Logic told me that if the stuff was frying my tongue, it could be frying my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/4 "2009-02-06T05:27:36Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > And please note, I was prompted to do this reasearch by a direct correlation between eating these candies every day for about a week, which caused very intense rawness on my tongue after just a handful of small candies (whcih are very powdery, like sweetarts only softer) and a very sudden, rapidly spreading and intensifying sensitivity in my teeth. Logic told me that if the stuff was frying my tongue, it could be frying my teeth. Are you sure it’s the tartness/acidity that is making your tongue raw? I get that effect with any hard candy that I suck on. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/5 "2009-02-06T05:52:52Z")
> [@](#): > > …the most erosive **dietary** acid… I’m pretty sure pH isn’t the whole story. I’d eat a bag of those candies\* before I’d put a drop of battery acid in my mouth. \*My favorite is sour Skittles. My favorite method is to put about half a dozen on my tongue, and then roll them back and forth along the roof of my mouth. That raw feeling you speak of shows up pretty quickly, but I think it’s partially because it’s cutting my tongue, too. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/6 "2009-02-06T07:26:25Z")
Battery acid (Sulfuric) will [melt your fucking skin off](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://english.pravda.ru/img/idb/acid.jpg&imgrefurl=http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/06-04-2007/89230-acid-0&usg=__Dem6SfR8ddyT7rdmztIQpfGUNvg=&h=262&w=200&sz=20&hl=en&start=6&sig2=VN2Y4kxEOF9sqSDsBVUExA&um=1&tbnid=wX2TliwNCeF2BM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=85&ei=UuWLSYC9GNqhtwf7wayLCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsulfuric%2Bacid%2Bburns%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN) in rather short time. When it mixes with water, it becomes _extremely_ exothermic. I’m positive Citric Acid doesn’t have quite the same punch. Citric Acid will erode your enamel over much time, but comparing it to battery acid isn’t really meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/7 "2009-02-06T10:44:09Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Are you sure it’s the tartness/acidity that is making your tongue raw? I get that effect with any hard candy that I suck on. Very sure. These particular candies are not really hard. They are pressed powder that falls apart very readily, that is part of why I like them, they quickly break down into a pool of powdery sour mush that I love. They are essentially pressed chunks of the powder that a lot of other candies are simply dipped in. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/8 "2009-02-06T10:45:48Z")
My new way to let myself eat at least a few is to keep them as much away from my teeth as possible, then drink plenty of water and eat something with a high-PH right after. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/9 "2009-02-06T12:12:27Z")
Citric acid is particularly good at dissolving calcium salts because it not only provides a proton, as any acid does, but also complexes the calcium ion. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/10 "2009-02-06T16:30:54Z")
I got on a Shock Tarts kick 5 or 6 years ago, I’d buy them like 20 rolls at a time from Sams Club. So far so good with my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/11 "2009-02-09T06:15:54Z")
Okay, you guys aren’t going to believe this, but it’s the god’s honest. I was freaked about my teeth so I cooled it on the candy for a day or two…but I couldn’t stay away. So I started eating it again, but I was very careful to keep it right in the center of my tongue and away from my teeth. I did that for a whole day, off and on, and there was no question my tongue was hurting, it was pretty fried. And remember, this candy is not hard, it is just pressed powder that falls apart readily. Well, when I just couldn’t stand any more, i went straight to the bathroom to give my mouth a good rinse (no brushing, they said brushing directly after increases the damage) - when I spit, it was bloody. Bloody??? Huh? I stuck out my tongue, and low and behold, dead center, right where the candy sat, were two side-by-side bloody sores. I am not kidding you. The acid in the candy actually ate through the surface of my tongue. So I backed off the candy and every other acidic food for 3 days and my tongue is back to normal. So believe me: it’s damaging! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/12 "2009-02-09T06:50:55Z")
Gah! I’m off to hunt down my childhood dentist– warned me about the sugar but never the tartness! (I remember licking a giant gobstopper 'til my tongue was raw and bloody. Sugar? Addictive?) ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/13 "2009-02-09T18:41:46Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I stuck out my tongue, and low and behold, dead center, right where the candy sat, were two side-by-side bloody sores. I am not kidding you. The acid in the candy actually ate through the surface of my tongue. I remember a post on the Dope, or maybe it was one of those teen magazines in the Embarrassing Moments section, where the guy took a gal to the movies, and the candy gave him sores on his tongue. They started to kiss, she felt them, and, thinking he had mouth herpes, never went out with him again. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sour-candy-battery-acid/484631/14 "2009-02-09T18:50:56Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > … where the guy took a gal to the movies, … [**Die Hard**?](http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_12605_Automotive_Batteries+%26+Chargers_Automotive+Batteries)