If you are like most adults, you need coffee to kickstart your day. Whether you brew a fresh mug of coffee at home or buy it from the nearest vending outlet, coffee is popular due to its quick energy boost. It also offers multiple health benefits, including reduced cancer risk, stroke, and diabetes. However, your dental health provider is concerned about drinking coffee frequently since it might damage your teeth. The following information addresses these concerns and shows how to fix them.
Coffee is Acidic
Coffee is acidic, with a pH that ranges between 4.8 and 5.1. The threshold can demineralize your enamel (your tooth’s outer layer). Demineralization means softening, weakening, and breaking down enamel.
Exposure and frequency determine the acidity’s ability to harm your teeth. Exposure refers to the time you take to drink coffee. Drinking the coffee slowly while pausing between sips exposes your teeth significantly to acidity. If you drink several mugs of coffee for hours daily, your teeth never take a break.
Prolonged exposure to coffee does not allow saliva to completely neutralize or wash away acidity in your mouth, increasing your risk of developing cavities and acid erosion. Tooth erosion causes weakened teeth, which are vulnerable to several issues like infections, decay, breaking, and sensitivity.
You can reduce acidity in coffee using any of the following methods:
- Brew coffee longer — Acids are the first compounds to be released. If your brew time is short, the coffee might taste sour because of the high acidity concentration.
- Choose darker roasts — Darker roasts are more soluble and less acidic than lighter roasts.
- Avoid storing hot coffee for long periods — Storing coffee at high temperatures increases the acid-releasing rate, leading to highly acidic coffee.
- Add milk — Milk is alkaline and can balance your coffee’s pH. You can consider soy or almond milk.
- Use hard water when brewing your coffee — Alkaline or hard water has a higher mineral content, which could neutralize your coffee’s acidity.
- Add eggshells to coffee grind — Eggshells are rich in calcium and have alkaline properties. Adding an eggshell to the coffee grind neutralizes the acid released during brewing. However, you should not eat the eggshells.
- Use coffee filters
- Avoid overheating your coffee
Coffee Causes Dryness or Astringency
The dry feeling in your mouth after drinking coffee is astringency. The molecules known as pseudo-tannins and tannins cause astringency. The polyphenols bind to proteins in coffee, making them precipitate onto the tongue. They also remove the proteins’ lubricating effects, leaving the tongue feeling sandy and dry.
Tannin is insoluble in water and makes it into your coffee at a high extraction level. Overextracted coffee has high tannins and tastes drier than your under-extracted coffee.
Coffee causes dry mouth or xerostomia. A leading side effect of xerostomia is halitosis or bad breath. One function of saliva is to clean the mouth by removing food particles and debris. If your mouth is dry, you have less spit, and the saliva removes fewer particles, making a mouth a breeding ground for bacteria.
Improving extraction can restrict tannins in your brew and balance them. However, sweetness lowers tannins’ perception. Tannin’s perception also increases at low temperatures; most individuals prefer sugar in iced coffee, balancing it. You can also add a high oil content to lower the tannins’ drying impact. The existence of oil or fat blocks tannins from binding to proteins.
Your dentist can prescribe an oral rinse to restore mouth moisture if you have a dry mouth. You can purchase it over the counter. There are also mouthwashes, moisturizing gels, and toothpaste for dry mouth.
Other effective strategies your dentist could use include the following:
- Drinking a lot of water to alleviate your dry mouth symptoms
- Chew sugar-free gums — Chewing stimulates saliva production, moisturizing the mouth and preventing tooth cavities.
Coffee Could Cause Teeth Discoloration
The natural color of different people’s tooth enamel varies. Healthy teeth do not always appear glowing white. Teeth may have a light yellowish, brownish, or greyish appearance and be as healthy as the whitest tooth enamel.
When you eat or drink something, your teeth are exposed to the substance in the mouth. Since teeth are slightly porous, particles from dark-colored drinks like coffee often stick to their surface, forming dark, unpleasant stains on your teeth.
The polyphenols (tannins) in coffee cause color compounds to stick to the teeth, leaving an unwanted yellow hue. It takes only a cup of coffee a day to cause teeth discoloration.
Ways to Remove of Coffee Stains
You should not panic if you are a caffeine lover because there are solutions for removing coffee stains from your teeth. They include the following:
Teeth Whitening Dental Treatments
An experienced dentist can leverage their expertise and state-of-the-art technology to provide you with safe and effective professional whitening treatments. They can combat even the toughest coffee stains, resulting in a noticeable improvement in the brightness of your smile with just a single appointment.
Whitening Toothpaste
These toothpastes use moderate abrasives and hydrogen peroxide to lift stains. Although they are effective when dealing with light stains, they have limitations. Go for an ADA-approved whitening toothpaste option, but understand that it will not significantly whiten your teeth. For further guidance, consult your dental care provider.
Brushing and Flossing
Appropriate brushing twice and flossing once daily are excellent foundations for stain removal. Choose fluoride toothpaste containing moderate abrasives to scrub your teeth’s surface stains gently.
You could purchase an electric toothbrush, as its vibrating movement can be more effective in removing stains on teeth. Note that how you do it matters! Brush gently for 2 minutes, focusing on spots prone to staining, like the back of your front teeth.
Use Baking Soda
Baking soda, also called sodium bicarbonate, is a moderate abrasive that helps remove teeth’s surface stains without harming enamel. To use baking soda as a stain remover, wet the toothbrush, dip it into a small amount of baking soda, and brush your teeth as usual.
Another approach is to mix the sodium bicarbonate with some drops of water to create a paste and apply it directly to your teeth. Brush your teeth gently for 2 to 3 minutes before rinsing thoroughly with fresh water. Repeat the procedure two to three times each week for outstanding results.
Have Regular Teeth Cleaning
Regular teeth cleanings administered by a dental hygienist remove recurring plaque and tartar buildup contributing to coffee stains. While performing dental cleanings, your dental hygienist will use specialized tools to eradicate the stains from your teeth.
Ensure you visit your dentist twice a year.
Coconut Pulling Oil
Coconut is a natural antibacterial compound that can whiten the teeth by eliminating bacteria accumulation on your teeth. Swish the oil in the mouth for fifteen to twenty minutes before spitting it out. Repeat this process a couple of times each week.
Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Some fruits and vegetables, like strawberries, contain natural fibers that break down bacteria and clean teeth. Therefore, eating them helps remove teeth stains.
Good News For Coffee Lovers to Minimize Coffee’s Staining Effect on Teeth
You can reduce coffee’s staining effect in the following ways:
- Drink the coffee using a straw — Drinking coffee using a straw (which might feel awkward) can help you avoid coffee’s direct contact with your teeth, reducing the exposure of the tooth enamel to staining elements.
- Drinking water — Drinking water as you take your coffee and swish it across your mouth can rinse away some of the staining elements and lessen contact with the tooth enamel.
- Practice timed intake — Drinking coffee within a particular time instead of sipping throughout your day could limit the teeth’s exposure to staining elements.
- Add creamer or milk — Adding milk or creamer to your coffee can lower its acid level and dilute the staining agents, resulting in a minimal possibility of tooth discoloration.
Coffee and Tooth Cavities
Coffee does not cause tooth cavities in itself, but it can indirectly increase the risk of tooth decay. With time, coffee’s acidic nature can soften and weaken your teeth’s enamel. The enamel is your teeth’s protective barrier; if it breaks down, it increases the potential risk of bacterial damage and tooth decay.
Cavities, called teeth decay, are damaged parts in your teeth' hard surface that form tiny holes or openings. It is a common dental health problem among children and adults. Symptoms of cavities can vary depending on the extent of damage or location. At first, the cavity might be invisible and painless. However, it could cause the following as it progresses:
- Tooth sensitivity
- Spontaneous tooth pain that can occur without a clear trigger
- Visible holes in your teeth
- Pain while biting down food
- Brown or black stains on the tooth’s surface
- Mild to sharp pain while eating or drinking
Below are tips to consider when enjoying your favorite beverage while protecting your teeth:
- Drink coffee using a straw to minimize contact with the teeth
- Wait to brush your teeth — Brushing while all the acids from your drink are on your teeth’s surface and have already softened your enamel could damage your teeth more. Instead, wait 30-60 minutes before engaging in your oral routine.
- Practice proper oral hygiene.
- Sip water — Drinking coffee permits sugar to build up in the mouth, mainly if you sip it throughout the day. However, sipping water in between coffee washes away the sugars between your teeth.
It Causes Tooth Sensitivity
Drinking a lot of coffee can also cause tooth sensitivity (discomfort or sharp pain when eating or drinking cold or hot foods and drinks). This occurs when you have a tooth cavity or your enamel is thin. Since coffee erodes the enamel, it could also result in tooth sensitivity.
Effects of Flavored Syrups, Sweeteners, and Sugars in Coffee on Your Teeth
Sugar-sweetened drinks are a significant culprit in packing excess sugars into the diet. Sugar also increases the likelihood of developing cavities and tooth decay. The bacteria in the mouth break down sugar into acids. Then, the acids mix with saliva, food debris, and bacteria, creating plaque, a sticky substance that wears away your enamel and creates cavities.
Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners are non-cariogenic. They do not contribute to tooth cavities but work against them. When you drink coffee with sugar, the pH in the mouth drops due to increased acidity. On the other hand, artificial sweeteners balance your salivary pH and reduce the quantity of tooth cavity bacteria.
While artificial sweeteners offer oral health benefits, that does not mean you should swap sugar in coffee with artificial sweeteners. Instead, you should discuss your concerns with your dentist and follow your oral care routine.
Some of the ways to keep your coffee in favor while fighting adverse oral health effects include the following:
- Use natural sweeteners like raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, and agave instead of refined white sugar.
- Add cocoa powder — Cocoa brings more flavor to your coffee and contains antioxidants. The antioxidants improve blood flow for your gum tissues and reduce inflammation, lowering the likelihood of developing gum disease. To add cocoa powder to your coffee, spoon your desired quality of cocoa into your cup of coffee and stir until your cocoa dissolves.
- Add cinnamon — Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties that repair gum tissues. You can add cinnamon to coffee grounds before brewing the coffee.
- Consider using a low-acid coffee — Some kinds of coffee are more acidic than others.
Contact a Skilled Dentist Near Me
Coffee contains caffeine to keep the morning going and maintain focus throughout the day. It is a brilliant beverage for meeting with your loved ones and for staying alert. Nevertheless, it has side effects on health, like discoloration, cavities, and acidity. The dental team at Lasting Impressions Dental Spa recognizes the importance of teeth aesthetics and functionality. We can help you restore your damaged smile, gums, and teeth due to extended coffee exposure. Our Encino team of dentists will offer educational tips on how to enjoy coffee while protecting your oral health. Please contact us at 818-751-5100 to schedule your initial appointment.
