If you drink coffee every day, you may have noticed that your teeth are looking a little less white. Coffee can stain your teeth, but that doesn’t mean you need to give up your morning cup.
Coffee contains tannins and dark pigments that can stick to the surface of your teeth. Over time, this can make your teeth appear yellow or darker. How noticeable the staining is depends on things like how often you drink coffee, how long you sip it for, and your usual oral hygiene routine.
Does Coffee Stain Teeth More Than Tea?
Not necessarily. Coffee is often blamed for tooth staining, but one study found that tea, red wine, and soda caused more discoloration than coffee. In the study, researchers bleached extracted teeth and then exposed them to coffee, tea, soda, red wine, and artificial saliva. They measured changes in tooth colour over several periods of time.
Coffee caused the least colour change among the four drinks. The difference between the coffee group and the artificial saliva group was not statistically significant at any of the times measured. That doesn’t necessarily mean that coffee can’t stain your teeth. It means that, under the conditions of this particular study, coffee caused less staining than the other drinks that were tested.
The researchers also found that after one week of coffee exposure, the colour change was large enough to be visible. Tea, red wine, and soda reached a visible level of colour change even sooner.
Because the study used extracted teeth in a lab, the results don’t tell us exactly what would happen if the tooth were still inside someone’s mouth. Saliva, brushing, diet, and many other factors all play a role.
Why Does Coffee Stain Your Teeth?
Coffee contains something called tannins, which can make it easier for pigments to stick to your teeth. The dark colour of coffee also contributes to tooth stains.
There is another part of the story. Coffee is acidic. Frequent exposure to acidic drinks can contribute to tooth wear. As your enamel wears down, the naturally yellow colour of the dentin underneath can become more noticeable.
So not every change in tooth colour is a stain sitting on the outside of the tooth. Sometimes teeth look more yellow because the enamel has become thinner, leaving the dentin exposed.
What You Put in Your Coffee Matters
Black coffee and a large sweetened coffee are not the same thing when it comes to your teeth. Sugar feeds the bacteria in dental plaque. These bacteria produce acids that can damage your teeth and contribute to cavities.
If you add sugar or a sweetened creamer to your coffee, keeping an eye on how much you use is recommended. It’s also better for your teeth to drink your coffee within a short amount of time rather than taking small sips throughout the day.
What If You Have Just Whitened Your Teeth?
This is when you may want to be a little more careful with coffee. The study found that red wine, tea, and soda caused significantly more staining than coffee after bleaching. Coffee produced the smallest colour change of the four drinks.
Still, coffee can contribute to new stains. If you have invested in professional whitening or an at-home whitening treatment and you want the results to last, cutting back on dark-coloured drinks can help. You don’t necessarily have to stop drinking coffee altogether.
How Can You Drink Coffee Without Staining Your Teeth?
You can make a few small changes without completely changing your routine.
Try not to sip coffee for several hours. The longer your teeth are exposed to coffee, the more opportunity there is for pigments and acids to come into contact with them.
Have some water after your coffee. A glass of water can help rinse coffee from your mouth.
Use a straw for iced coffee. This can reduce contact between the drink and your front teeth.
Keep the sugar to a minimum. This is especially important for preventing cavities.
Keep brushing and flossing. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and cleaning between your teeth regularly helps keep plaque and surface stains under control.
Avoid brushing immediately after coffee. Since coffee is acidic, rinsing with water first and waiting before brushing is much gentler on your enamel.
What Other Foods and Drinks Stain Teeth?
Coffee is far from the only culprit. Other common sources of staining include:
- Tea
- Red wine
- Soda
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Pomegranate
- Tomato sauce
- Curry
- Soy sauce
- Balsamic vinegar
- Beets
- Dark-coloured juices
- Foods and drinks with artificial colouring
Some of these are also acidic. Acid can wear away enamel, while pigments can cause surface staining. Both can affect how white your teeth look.
Do You Need to Stop Drinking Coffee?
For most people, no. Coffee can stain teeth, but it’s not necessarily one of the worst drinks for tooth stains. In the study discussed above, tea, red wine, and soda were shown to cause more staining than coffee.
If you enjoy coffee, focus on how you drink it. Avoid slowly sipping all day, have water afterward, limit added sugar, and stick to your regular dental routine. If your teeth have developed stains that do not come off with regular brushing, talk to your dentist. A professional cleaning may remove some surface stains. If you want your teeth whiter than their natural colour, your dentist can also help you decide whether whitening is the right choice for you.
Read more
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9683888/
https://www.healthline.com/health/dental-and-oral-health/what-does-coffee-do-to-your-teeth
https://crest.com/en-us/oral-care-tips/teeth-stains/20-foods-and-drinks-that-stain-your-teeth/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4054058/
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/nutrition-and-oral-health/drinks-that-can-harm-your
https://thorncrestdental.com/stained-teeth/
https://thorncrestdental.com/tooth-discoloration/
