The Australian Dental Association (ADA) said on Tuesday that 68 percent of students currently enrolled in schools across the country showed signs of tooth erosion and dentists are pointing to the overconsumption of soft drinks and energy drinks as the likely culprit.

ADA president Sharon Liberali said that recent research proved that the high acid contents of soft drinks and energy drinks could spark tooth erosion and Australian teenagers were the most vulnerable since both products are readily available and accessible to them.

Dr Liberali said that as shown by their recent study, which was conducted with consumer advocate Choice, energy drinks in particular carry too much acid that can directly damage the enamel surface of teeth.

She added that brands such as Red Bull and V contain high acids that could expedite dental erosion which is fast-becoming a "silent epidemic because we all tend to focus on tooth decay, rather than the damaging impacts of erosion."

Dr Liberali underscored that the problem is pretty alarming since persons with good brushing and flossing habits were also at risk of tooth erosion as she explained that "unlike tooth decay, which is caused by bacteria, tooth erosion occurs by chemical attack without bacterial involvement."

In this light, the ADA noted that Australian teenagers have been developing runaway consumption of energy drinks as pointed by the Victorian government research which found that up to 80 percent of students aged 12 to 17 almost regularly buy and drink sugary soft drinks.

On top of that, the dentists' association said that about ten percent could finish three cans of drinks each day which most likely contributed to the sales climb of close to 20 percent of energy and soft drinks in the emerging convenience beverage market.

Dr Liberali emphasised that his group is more concern on the rise in popularity of energy drinks among teenagers as she lamented that the beverage is almost readily available, which makes it harder for them to make a dent in arresting the mounting dental erosion problem in Australia.