10 Foods and Drinks That Stain Your Teeth
on Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Perhaps one of the most immediately noticeable effects certain foods and drinks have on our teeth is staining them. If you’re not careful, your diet can very easily discolor your teeth. The best way to keep your smile bright and shining is to avoid or limit certain foods and drinks.
Coffee
If you often drink coffee, especially black coffee, you’ll likely see some teeth staining. Teeth are porous, which means they naturally absorb liquid. Even if you only drink one or two cups of coffee a day, you’ll see staining. A good way to avoid this is to add a bit of milk into your coffee, which both lightens the color and provides your body with calcium.
Tea
Like coffee, the darker your tea is, the more likely it is to stain your teeth. Lighter teas, such as green or white teas, will stain your teeth less than dark teas.
Soda
In addition to staining your teeth, sodas also expose your enamel to high amounts of sugar and acid. Lightly colored or clear sodas will stain your teeth less, but still expose your enamel to damage from all the sugar and acid. Generally speaking, it is best to avoid sodas whenever you can.
Dark Juices
Juices can help you get your serving of fruit, but the concentrated dark pigments in juice can easily stain your teeth. Grape and cranberry juices are the juices that stain your teeth the worst. Like soda, juices also contain acid which erodes your enamel and makes your teeth easier to stain. Stick with lighter colored juices, like apple juice.
Popsicles
Everyone knows how enjoying a summertime popsicle will leave your tongue and lips stained. Your teeth are no exception to the staining effects of popsicles. Like sodas, popsicles also contain sugars and acids that are bad for your teeth.
Soy Sauce
Any dark liquid has a chance of leaving a stain, but soy sauce is especially concentrated and can leave stains more easily than some other dark liquids. It’s best to use soy sauce sparingly, both for the sake of your teeth and because of the high amounts of sodium it contains.
Balsamic Vinegar
While this is a healthy alternative to some other salad dressings, this liquid dressing is dark in color and acidic, making it more likely to stick to your teeth and leave stains. Using a lighter vinegar on your salad can save you stains.
Tomato Sauce
Anything tomato-based can stain your teeth. Tomato sauce is good for your body, though. The darkness in color indicates that it is high in antioxidants and vitamins. Don’t skip out on your tomato sauce. Eating a salad beforehand, with greens like lettuce or broccoli, will create a film on your teeth that will prevent staining from occurring.
Blueberries
Blueberries are another teeth-staining food that is really healthy for you. Like tomatoes, they have nutrients your body needs. To avoid staining, swish a mouthful of water to help remove the stains from your teeth.
Beets
Beets are known to stain everything they touch and, likewise, can stain your teeth. Beets are a healthy food that is packed with nutrients, so you don’t want to cut them from your diet. Because their staining potency is stronger than blueberries, however, rinsing your mouth usually isn’t enough to remove stains. If you can brush your teeth within an hour of eating, however, you can prevent stains.
Teeth Whitening at Gresham Family Dentistry
Teeth Whitening is a safe and effective system that reverses the staining effects of coffee, wine, food, tobacco, aging, and other lifestyle factors. When your teeth reach the desired level of brightness. only maintenance treatment in needed. Learn about safe and effective teeth whitening at Gresham Family Dentistry.
The Best Dental Care in Gresham is Available at Gresham Family Dentistry
Be proactive about your oral health – schedule an appointment today for an oral check up with Gresham Family Dentistry. At Gresham Family Dentistry our priority is your comfort. We take pride in protecting the oral health of Gresham families. We offer cleanings, oral surgeries, child dentistry, and more at Gresham Family Dentistry. Contact us today for an appointment or call 503-661-2600.
Our hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM and Thursday 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM.
