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Coffee, Tea and Your Smile

Tuesday - September 20th, 2016
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Coffee and tea are notorious for leaving you with a dull, slightly yellowed smile. I am a big coffee drinker myself, so I understand the joys of that morning cup of joe. But sadly, coffee is one of the main causes of stains on the tooth enamel.

The dark color bonds quickly to the teeth, overtime affecting the appearance of your smile. Additionally, caffeine has been found to interfere with natural saliva production leading to dry mouth which promotes tooth decay.

Having said this, I still love my morning coffee. But there are ways to help prevent discoloration. One idea is to drink a glass of water with every cup. The water will replenish the liquid which is drawn out by the caffeine, helping with the loss of saliva. You can also brush your teeth or chew sugar free gum to increase saliva production.

Another idea is to drink coffee and tea through a straw. It may not seem like the best idea to the strictest coffee or tea connoisseur, but it really can help bypass the coffee past the front teeth, lessening the time the coffee is in contact with teeth. Take care though that you don’t burn the back of your mouth on the hot liquid since you won’t be able to tell how hot it is until it is too late.

And of course, there is always the option of whitening teeth, either with over the counter strips or at the dentist office. A great first step though, would be to use whitening toothpaste. Since you (hopefully) brush your teeth everyday anyway, this doesn’t add any additional steps, yet it can help a great deal in counteracting your morning coffee or tea.