Five tips to prevent coffee or tea from staining your teeth Follow these little tricks so that your taste for these drinks doesn’t end up dulling the white of your smile. Nothing is perfect.
Although coffee and tea are healthy drinks for the general population, their frequent consumption can end up dulling the whiteness of your teeth.
Luckily, this doesn’t mean you have to give it up, as if you follow these five tips, you will avoid or minimize these dental stains.
If you don’t want to give up your favorite drink to have white teeth, keep reading!
This interests you.
Drinking tea or coffee has become almost a ritual for many.
Although these drinks are beneficial for almost everyone and are part of our daily lives, their frequent or excessive consumption can make us pay an “aesthetic price”: the discoloration of our teeth.
Why do these stains occur?
They are due to the dyes – natural or artificial – present in many foods, which tend to stain the enamel of our teeth.
Although we cannot see it with the naked eye, the enamel is covered with microscopic holes through which these dyes pass and are deposited until they dye it.
Next, we suggest you follow these five tips to avoid coffee or tea stains on your teeth: Rinse with water after drinking it. This will help remove much of the residue that may be deposited on your teeth, as well as neutralizing the acidity of these drinks.
If you can’t sip, an alternative is to simply drink water, which will also help keep your mouth hydrated.
The latter is very beneficial, especially if we drink coffee or tea with caffeine or theine, respectively, as they dry out the mouth.
Don’t brush right after. The most important thing to do to prevent our teeth from turning yellow is to brush them.
As we have mentioned, the main cause of stains is the accumulation of food debris, and therefore, bacterial plaque, so correct oral hygiene is essential to prevent staining of the enamel.
However, we should not brush right after drinking coffee or tea since, as they are acidic drinks, they weaken our enamel and, being so fragile, brushing could wear it down.
It is preferable to wait at least 30 minutes, without forgetting to floss and gargle.
Avoid holding the liquid in your mouth too long. We know you want to enjoy your coffee or tea, but the less time you hold it in your mouth, the better.
Although dentists traditionally recommended using a straw to reduce contact between the liquid and the teeth, this utensil causes a great negative impact on the environment, so we prefer to advise against it or use reusable or biodegradable straws.
Better, without sugar. Apart from the negative consequences that sugar has on our body, it also contributes to the formation of cavities, which also cause stains on the enamel.
We therefore recommend that you opt for the natural taste of coffee or tea.
Eat crunchy foods or chew sugar-free gum. If you can’t brush your teeth after drinking coffee or tea, eating foods with fiber, such as apples, pears, carrots or celery, or chewing sugar-free gum can help correct the acidity of the mouth and wash away some of the coffee or tea particles that have stuck to the enamel.
Can a whitening paste remove these stains?
If the consumption of coffee or tea has already darkened the natural color of your teeth, the most effective and safest solution will be professional whitening, which can then be continued by using a specific whitening toothpaste and mouthwash every month, always alternating them with the ones you usually use. + info: Teeth whitening: 3 reasons to avoid home remedies