It’s unfortunate that some of life’s biggest joys (wine and coffee) can also cause the most staining on our pearly whites. A lot of our favourite foods can be culprits for teeth staining. But this doesn’t mean that you have to give them up forever. Our dental office in downtown Toronto has compiled recommendations on how to easily minimize teeth stains. Keep reading for our recommendation on how to easily minimize teeth stains.
Drink White Not Red Wine
You might have anticipated this tip, but here’s an explanation on the science behind it: foods and beverages that are acidic will erode tooth enamel, which allows coloured compounds to affect your teeth. Tannins are a substance found in grape skins, tomato skins and tea leaves. These encourage chromogens to stick onto the teeth, which further darkens your teeth. Red wine is known as a triple whammy since it is acidic and contains chromogens and tannins.
Drinking white wine takes care of getting rid of the tannins. It will be slightly less staining on your teeth. However, keep in mind that white wine will still be acidic. It might not have the same effect as red wine, but it will still make your teeth more susceptible to staining.
One more tip is to eat cheese while you drink wine. Now, most of us can get behind this idea. This is helpful because cheese will neutralize the acidity in the wine, and act as a natural barrier to protect your teeth. It’s also a good idea to drink lots of water to wash away the chromogens and take advantage of the fluoride.
Get Alfredo Instead Of Bolognese
In the same way that red grapes contain tannins, tomatoes in pasta sauce do as well and are a recipe for teeth staining. If you are really concerned with keeping a white smile, then watch out for foods that are dark in colour, such as pasta sauce, curry, and balsamic vinegar. These foods are high in chromogens. In comparison, white sauces will not have nearly the same damage as the other options.
Pass On The Green Tea
We all know that coffee gets the bad rep for staining teeth darker, but we’re positive you didn’t know that tea can actually accelerate teeth staining as well. The leaves found in green tea are nutritious, but they also contain a large amount of tannins, even more than coffee. Thanks to the mild acidity and dark colour of green tea, it can be surprisingly worse than coffee when it comes to making chromogens stick to the surface of your teeth.
Use A Straw To Drink
Drinking any acidic and sugary beverages such as sports drinks, coffee, wine and tea from a straw will be able to help protect your teeth. This is because it gets the beverage past the front of your teeth. Using a straw can serve as a good temporary or habitual solution, so you won’t need to stop consuming these items altogether.
Does all of this mean that you need to swear off some of your favourite foods? No, not necessarily. You simply need to consume them less often, and especially after you have just used any teeth whitening products in Toronto. You should also get into the habit of brushing your teeth before and after. If you would like more information regarding teeth whitening or cosmetic dentistry in Toronto, get in touch with Carlton Dental today!