You wake up in the morning, brush your teeth, get moving, and, if you're like just about half of American adults, you brew your morning go juice. The go-to beverage for most of us is either coffee or tea. While these drinks may be good for getting you over the hump of groggy to alert, dentists far and wide know they're a bad choice for your teeth.
Some opt for one over the other because of taste, availability, or cost, but sometimes it's also an aesthetic consideration. Every so often, we're asked which one stains your teeth the worst. Here's our answer:
Tea.
Here's why:
Coffee is high in chromagens, which, in WebMd's words are, "compounds with strong pigments that cling to enamel." It's also a highly acidic drink. Tea, however, has the added combination of tannins, which are naturally occurring compounds that unfortunately help chromagens stick to your tooth enamel. That's very bad news for black tea drinkers, which may be one of the worst tooth-staining teas.
How Can You Reduce the Risk?
The answer to this question is simply to cut back on the amount of tea (and coffee too!) that you drink, and to practice a good oral hygiene routine.
If you're an avid consumer of these morning favorites and have heavy staining you're not happy with, please know there are many, many cosmetic dentistry options available to restore your teeth to a brilliant white. Most dentists are happy to go over your options for teeth whitening during an appointment.
Thanks for Reading!
We hope our short and simple answer helps you win a bet or maybe even a round of Jeopardy someday. If you enjoy our blog posts, please like our Facebook page to see when we make write new ones.