What Does Coffee Do To My Teeth?

At our Maroubra dental clinic, we always provide our patients with advice and tips on improving their oral health. Part of improving your oral care routine is improving your daily habits, including being more mindful about your coffee consumption.

So, what does coffee do to your teeth?

Keep reading as we discuss the oral health consequences of coffee and what you can do to improve your oral health and mitigate the effects of coffee.

Is Coffee Healthy?

Coffee is an integral part of many people’s daily routines. The ‘coffee break’ is a beloved part of the workday, and coffee plays an essential role in facilitating the industrial revolution. Coffee provides us with caffeine, a powerful stimulant that can enhance our productivity and energy levels.

Although coffee and caffeine are perfectly safe to consume, and some even consider coffee a part of a healthy diet, it can, unfortunately, hurt your oral health.

Coffee is proven to be beneficial in aiding the digestive system with plenty of fibre, improving liver function, and even helping the body to break down sugars. In the rest of this post, we will discuss the drawbacks of coffee in line with your oral health and what you can do to reduce these negative oral health consequences.

What Does Coffee Do To My Teeth?

Let’s explore what coffee does to your teeth when you drink it daily. Drinking coffee occasionally may not have these effects, but coffee tends to be a daily habit for most people – so it’s essential to be mindful of the consequences.

Staining Your Teeth

When you drink anything with an intense colour on a regular basis, such as red wine, this can cause staining on your teeth. Coffee, too, has a strong brown colour that can cause staining on your teeth.

When you have coffee every morning, and it sits on your teeth throughout the day, it allows the colour of the coffee to sink into your enamel and cause staining on your dentin. If this happens every day, the staining can worsen.

Causing Plaque Buildup

Often, we drink coffee with sugar or flavoured syrup. Sugar can feed the bacteria in your mouth, causing plaque on your teeth. Plaque leads to tooth decay over time, which can, in turn, lead to tooth loss.

Drinking coffee without sugar will reduce your risk of developing plaque and tartar.

Enamel Loss

Many people don’t know this, but coffee is acidic. When you drink acidic beverages every day, this can lead to erosion of the enamel – which will leave your teeth vulnerable to infection and decay.

If the enamel of your tooth decays, it will also expose more of the yellow dentin underneath, making your teeth appear more stained. Stained teeth can lead to confidence issues for many.

How To Reduce The Effects Of Coffee On Your Teeth

If you’re not willing to part with your favourite morning beverage, there are many things you can do to limit the effects of coffee on your teeth. Accessing dental care will allow you to consult with your Maroubra dentist and find the best solutions for reducing teeth staining. Here are our top tips for reducing staining, enamel loss, and plaque buildup caused by coffee consumption.

Drinking Less Coffee

Of course, cutting coffee from your diet is ideal – but it’s unrealistic for most coffee lovers. So, you can try consuming less instead of cutting coffee out completely. Limiting yourself to one cup in the morning can do wonders in reducing the impact of coffee on your teeth over time.

Drinking Water With Your Coffee

Try washing it with a glass of water when you have a coffee. The water will help to remove the coffee from your teeth while you enjoy your delicious beverage. Swimming the water around a little in your mouth can also be helpful before swallowing. This way, the coffee’s acidity, sugar, and colour will have less impact on your teeth.

Drinking Coffee Before You Brush Your Teeth

If you typically enjoy your coffee before going out for the day, then it’s a good idea to drink your coffee before brushing your teeth. This way, you can use mouthwash and fluoride to eliminate the bacteria and damaging substances from your teeth so they don’t sit there all day!

Opting For Sweeteners

If you enjoy a sweet coffee, you’re not alone. Pumpkin-spiced lattes, vanilla cold brews, and other sweet coffee drinks are trendy. However, the sugar in these drinks can have a lasting impact on oral health if you consume them regularly.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t still sweeten up your coffee. You can opt for sweeteners and sugar-free syrups to give you that sweet flavour without sugar. Sugar-free options can also be beneficial for your weight maintenance or weight loss journey!

Avoiding Smoking

For many people, a morning coffee goes hand-in-hand with a cigarette. However, smoking can lead to even more damage to your teeth, causing staining, plaque, and tartar buildup. If you’re a smoker, consider reducing the habit to maintain oral health.

Regular Dental Cleaning

Your local Maroubra dentist will provide dental cleaning procedures that allow you to thoroughly clean every surface of your teeth. When we brush our teeth at home, there are hard-to-reach spots that we can miss with our toothbrushes. A dental cleaning appointment allows your dentist to reach all those spots and ensure no hidden problem areas in your mouth.

Teeth Whitening

If your teeth are stained due to caffeine consumption, a teeth whitening procedure will help you get your teeth looking fresh again. Your dentist will provide you with a lightening gel that can help you to lighten your teeth by many shades. Of course, if your teeth are severely stained, only so much teeth whitening can do for you.

Summary

Cutting out and managing your bad habits is a great way to improve your oral health. While coffee may lead to damaged enamel, staining, and plaque build up, you can still drink it daily. Simply ensure the coffee does not sit on your teeth the whole day, and you will mitigate the damage it causes over time. If you want teeth whitening or dental cleaning services, why not contact our friendly team at Maroubra Dental Clinic?

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