Researchers have found that sugar-sweetened acidic drinks, such as soft drinks, is the common factor between obesity and tooth wear among adults.
"It is the acidic nature of some drinks such as carbonated drinks and acidic fruit juices that leads to tooth wear," said study lead author Saoirse O'Toole from King's College London.
The study published in the journal Clinical Oral Investigations, found that being overweight or obese was undoubtedly associated with having tooth wear.
Significantly, they also found that the increased consumption of sugary soft drinks may be a leading cause of the erosion of tooth enamel and dentine in obese patients.
Previous research from King's has found that tooth wear affects up to 30 per cent of European adults.
It is the premature wearing of teeth due to the softening of the dental enamel from dietary or gastric acids, combined with wear and tear.
Drawing on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004, the researchers analysed a representative sample of survey participants of 3,541 patients in the United States.
Patient BMI and the level of tooth wear were the exposure and outcome measurements in the analysis.