Whether you are sipping to celebrate, imbibing for the health effects, or simply enjoying the buzz or rich cafe taste, here are a few simple ideas to help you savour the taste while making it more difficult for the liquid stain your pearly whites.
- Drink your coffee through a straw which reduces the amount of liquid that comes in contact with your teeth.
- Enjoy coffee in moderation and drink water between sips and/or cups. Not only is water good for your general health, it will help wash the dark liquids out of your mouth and away from your teeth.
- Brush & floss! It’s always the best defense. Floss to reduce plaque which in general reduces staining – and wait 20-30 minutes after drinking coffee to brush your teeth as the acidity in the coffee softens your enamel. This super duo will help stains from setting in.
- Regular dental visits for cleaning – twice a year to remove any plaque build-up on your teeth. If you do see staining, talk to your dentist about an inexpensive at home bleaching kit.
Whether you take your coffee in a latte, pumpkin spiced, frappucino’d or simply black in a cup…CHEERS!
Even though coffee may stain your teeth, its numerous health perks will make up for that one downside. Coffee has been shown to benefit the liver and reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Furthermore, it has been shown to boost metabolism and maintain brain health.
And there is now early evidence that coffee may support strong teeth by preventing bone loss in the jaw.
Professor Nasir Bashirelahi, from the University of Maryland School of Denistry, said, “Coffee in moderation has many nutritional benefits.”
If the idea of stained teeth turns you off, there are a few tricks you can try to minimize the effect. Sipping coffee through a straw has been shown to reduce the amount of coffee that touches your teeth, thus reducing the risk of stains.
You should wait at least 30 minutes after consuming coffee to brush your teeth. The acidity of the coffee softens enamel, which starts hardening back within that time frame.
Even if you have developed stains from coffee, you can schedule an appointment with your dentist to bleach these stains out.
SOURCE: Health Day News