A young man named Josh McKee was recently forced to remove half of his teeth. The problem? Not disease or infection, but an addiction to energy drinks. The high level of sugar managed to cause decay in about half of his teeth. He’s a young man in his 20’s, yet his energy drink addiction has ruined his oral health after about 10 years of drinking caffeinated, sugary beverages. As a 20-something, he has the teeth of an elderly patient who has never learned proper oral hygiene.

Caffeine addiction is not as severe as other forms of substance use disorder—for example, alcohol abuse over time can affect the liver, heart, brain, and many other parts of the body—shrinking the brain, causing a fatty liver, weight gain, depression, cravings, and lesser symptoms such as skin dehydration, reddened skin, nausea and so on. Whereas energy drinks might be anxiety-producing, as well as sugary and unhealthy, they don’t create the same risk of severe symptoms or death that alcohol or another drug can.

But over time, like any substance, more of it can cause more and more cravings, and the effects of the drug can be lessened. This means that you’ll also experience a downturn hours after consumption; you may even feel anxiety or depressed. When this drop occurs, you’ll want to ‘use’ again—or drink more energy drinks.

He experienced temptation much in the same way an alcoholic might while walking down the wine aisle; he’d see energy drinks in a cooler, and, unable to walk away, continue to buy them. While he had quit energy drinks two years prior, some of his molars still melted right into his gums. With a number of fillings and extractions, half of his teeth have been removed from his mouth, which is filled with abcesses.

Caffeine addiction becomes a compulsion; when you don’t have enough you’ll always want more. And even when you know it’s not right to drink so much caffeine or sugary beverages, you still do it, which describes the makings of an addiction.