David Bartlett, Head of Prosthodontics at King’s College London Dental Institute, directed a study looking for links between tooth wear at several sites in the mouth, and diet in more than 1,000 men and women aged 18 to 30.

What they discovered may shock you.

As reported by The Daily Mail the study determined that eating apples can be up to four times more damaging to teeth than carbonated drinks. Beer and wine also increase the risk of dental damage.

Professor Bartlett noted, “It is not only about what we eat, but how we eat it.” The warning: The high acidity levels of apples can damage your teeth.

The study looked for damage to the 2mm surface enamel of teeth, and at the dentine, the main supporting structure of the tooth beneath the enamel, and compared it with diet.

As reported in The Daily Mail article, people who ate apples were 3.7 times more likely to have dentine damage, while carbonated drink consumers had no additional risk. Fruit juice increased damage to the enamel around the top of the teeth near the gums.

For more on this study see: An apple is worse for your teeth than a fizzy drink