Does Carbonation really damage teeth?

My children's dentist just told me not to ever let my kids have any
carbonated drinks because carbonation is "pure evil" because the
carbonic acid produced by carbonation erodes teeth.  I find this 
hard to believe.  I can see that sugary carbonated drinks would have
the same issues as other sugary liquids, but he claims that even
plain seltzer (which my 2yo loves to share with me) has this problem.
This seems more like a wives' tale than good science to me.
But I can't seem to find anything authoritative based on a quick
google search.  Most studies seem to relate to sugared soft drinks.
Even though seltzer is slightly acidic due to the carbonic acid, 
so is orange juice and probably other non-carbonated beverages.
You don't soak your teeth in either one.   Anyone know the real
scoop on this?

Thanks,

--Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)