America’s obsession with coffee isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Be it hot or iced, we can’t seem to get enough of the caffeinated beverage of choice for commuters and office dwellers alike.
Like any good addicting beverage, we just can’t seem to get enough of it, and many American’s attempt to teeth stains part ways with that smooth Arabica end in failure. However, coffee is a top staining culprit for teeth, and one of the top reasons we see patients for teeth stain removal and whitenings. Other than tea, there’s no beverage that can wear down enamel and turn teeth an unpleasant brown color than black coffee.
While we – and you, neither – aren’t quitting coffee any time soon, there are some things you can do to minimize its impact on your teeth.
Some feel guilty getting coffee with cream. Some feel it dilutes the very nature of coffee – literally – by tarnishing the European experience with a very American addition. Others dislike the added calories of cream, especially if they’re on a diet that admonishes saturated fats.
However, for the sake of your teeth, even just a little cream – or 2% milk, if you must – is essential to reducing the enamel-destroying properties of coffees. The fat in the cream helps protect your teeth from the acids in the coffee, which are what wears your enamel down to the point makes it capable of being stained.
Sugars are dangerous for teeth in many ways, especially because they can promote the growth of plaque – that sticky yellowish substance that sits on your teeth as a film. Plaque and its hardened version, tartar, help make your teeth even more vulnerable to teeth stains because they can hurt your gums and enamel.
If you’re a regular coffee drinker – the same shop and order every morning, for example – drinking sugared coffee over time can have doubling effect on your teeth. The sugar wears down the health of your teeth while the acids in the coffee attack the enamel and stain them. As you can see, getting coffee without sugar takes out at least one of these issues.
One of the simplest steps you can take to fight teeth stains from your coffee is to drink water along with your coffee, or right after. Drinking water can help wash away the staining agents that attack your teeth if they are present for too long.
If you’ve been a long-time coffee drinker and hadn’t known about some of these tips, you may have already teeth stains. Luckily, there are treatments that can help. Come to our beautiful South Elgin location to set up an appointment, or set one up ahead of time online.
