Most of us start our day with a cup of coffee or Tea, but could these drinks that are putting a smile on our face also be making our smiles less brilliant. 

You know those stubborn browny yellow stains that accumulate on the inside of a coffee mug? Well that gives you some idea of how coffee and Tea can stain your teeth over time.

Although the enamel on our teeth is the hardest substance in the human body, is has microscopic pits and ridges that can hold onto food and drink particles.  Pigments from foods like coffee, tea and soft drinks become embedded in these ridges and if the teeth are no brushed effectively then staining occurs.

The best way to stop staining is to STOP drinking these drinks, but for most of this is not going to happen.  So if you do choose to drink coffee and Tea what can you do to reduce your straining and correct any staining that you already have?

• Drink a cup of coffee in one hit rather than sipping on it constantly over the morning
• Rinse your mouth out with water or brush your teeth after drinking the coffee
• Use good quality tooth paste (like Neutra-fluor 500)
• Brush your teeth at least twice a day
• Visit the dentist to have your teeth cleaned professionally (the dentist can get to some parts that you don’t get to). For some they are quite shocked when we show them a photo of the inside surface of their teeth and how stained they are, most of us are quite good at brushing the visible side of our teeth but can be quite lazy of on the other surfaces.

• Professional teeth whitening to remove the existing staining. Check out our website for more info http://www.mendelsohndental.com.au/treatments/teeth-whitening/
• Use sugarless gum (like Recaldent), this helps clean your teeth by stimulating the production of saliva and saliva is natures way of cleaning your teeth. Recaldent also has xylitol in it which helps reduce bacteria in the mouth.

Interestingly enough some kinds of black tea may even stain your teeth more than coffee.  Like red wine Black tea has tannins in it which promote staining.