People use straws for a surprisingly wide range of reasons, from protecting their teeth and reducing staining to managing a physical disability that makes lifting a glass difficult. What looks like a simple convenience item actually serves real functional purposes for dental health, accessibility, child development, and comfort.
Protecting Teeth From Acid and Staining
One of the most common reasons people reach for a straw is to shield their teeth. Acidic and sugary drinks like soda, juice, and sports drinks can erode tooth enamel over time, and a straw changes how much contact those liquids have with your teeth. A videofluoroscopic study found that drinking through a straw positioned toward the back of the mouth significantly reduced fluid contact with both the front teeth and molars. Fourteen out of the patients studied avoided fluid contact with both sets of teeth entirely when using a straw, and the contact time with the front teeth dropped significantly compared to sipping from a cup.
The placement matters. If you hold the straw between your lips right at the front of your mouth, the liquid still washes over your teeth much the same way it would from a cup. Positioning the straw further back, past the front teeth, is what makes the difference.
Staining works on a similar principle. Dark beverages like coffee, tea, and red wine are notorious for discoloring teeth, and drinking through a straw reduces how much of that liquid coats the visible front surfaces. It won’t eliminate staining entirely, since the liquid still touches the back teeth and the inside of your mouth, but it does limit the cosmetic damage to the teeth people see when you smile.
Accessibility and Physical Disability
For many people, straws aren’t a preference. They’re a necessity. People with conditions like cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or spinal cord injuries may not be able to safely lift a glass to their lips. Flexible straws in particular allow someone to drink while lying down or sitting in a reclined position without needing to tilt their head back, which can be a choking risk for people with swallowing difficulties.
This is actually why the flexible straw was invented in the first place. Joseph Friedman patented the bendable drinking straw after watching his young daughter struggle to reach a straight straw at a soda fountain. His first sale, in 1947, was to a hospital, where patients could position the straw for drinking while lying in bed without compromising the flow of liquid. The ADA National Network specifically recommends that food service establishments offer straws, especially the bendable kind, as an accommodation for diners with disabilities who find it difficult to lift or hold glasses.
When cities and states began banning plastic straws for environmental reasons, disability advocates pushed back hard, pointing out that many alternatives (paper, metal, silicone, bamboo) don’t work for everyone. Paper straws dissolve. Metal straws pose injury risks for people with tremors or involuntary movements. Silicone straws require more suction force than some people can generate. For this population, flexible plastic straws remain the most reliable option.
Child Development and Oral Motor Skills
Pediatric therapists and early childhood educators use straw drinking as an intentional exercise for building oral motor skills. The act of sucking through a straw strengthens the muscles in the mouth, jaw, and face that children need for speaking, eating, and swallowing. It requires coordination that cup drinking doesn’t: creating a seal with the lips, generating sustained suction, and controlling the flow of liquid into the mouth.
Therapeutic straw exercises go beyond just drinking. Children practice sucking water up through a straw, holding it in their mouths for three to five seconds, then releasing it back down the straw into a container. These exercises build the precise muscle control that supports clearer speech and more coordinated swallowing as children develop.
Comfort, Convenience, and Hygiene
Beyond the medical and developmental reasons, plenty of people use straws simply because they’re more comfortable. Straws let you drink without tilting your head, which is useful while driving, working at a desk, or walking. They keep ice out of your face. For people with sensitive teeth, straws help bypass the front teeth where cold beverages cause the most discomfort.
Hygiene is another factor. When you drink from a can or a glass at a restaurant, your lips touch a surface that’s been handled by other people or exposed to the environment. A wrapped straw gives you a clean point of contact. This is a minor concern for most people, but it drives straw use in certain settings, particularly with canned beverages where the rim sits exposed during shipping and storage.
The Downside: Swallowed Air and Bloating
Straws do have a notable drawback. Drinking through one increases the amount of air you swallow with each sip, a condition called aerophagia. Cleveland Clinic lists straw use as a specific lifestyle factor that contributes to swallowing excess air, which can cause bloating, gas, and abdominal discomfort. If you’re prone to digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome or chronic bloating, switching to sipping from a glass may help reduce symptoms.
Environmental Trade-Offs of Straw Materials
The environmental impact of straws has reshaped how and why people choose them. Single-use plastic straws can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. But not all alternatives break down as quickly as their marketing suggests. Research published through the American Chemical Society found that paper straws fully disintegrate in coastal ocean water in about 10 months, and straws made from PHA (a type of bioplastic) take around 15 months. However, straws made from PLA, the corn-based “compostable” plastic used by many restaurants, showed no measurable weight change after 16 weeks in ocean water, suggesting they could persist for years, similar to conventional plastic.
Reusable straws made from stainless steel, glass, or silicone sidestep the disposal question entirely but require cleaning and aren’t practical for everyone. For people who use straws for accessibility reasons, single-use options remain essential, which is why most straw bans include disability exemptions or require restaurants to provide straws on request.