Your morning mocha or favorite spaghetti dish may be doing more than providing fuel, nutrition, and calories to your daily diet. Over time, foods and drinks with a dark pigment and high acidic content can also lead to stains on your teeth.
So what types of foods and beverages are the biggest tooth-staining culprits? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the top offenders that can cause your pearly whites to lose their sparkle and become discolored.
1. Coffee
Your morning brew might be one of the main culprits behind your stained teeth.
Coffee contains tannins, a type of chemical compound called a polyphenol, that can cause color compounds to stick to your teeth.
2. Dark cola
Carbonated beverages such as soda and cola have very acidic pH that can erode the enamel layer which can make your teeth more susceptible to staining. Plus, chemicals that add flavour in these drinks can also eat away your enamel and promote tooth decay.
3. Sweets and candies
Everyone agrees on the fact that sugar is the most typical enemy of your dental health. Consuming sweets and candies, particularly of darkish varieties like chocolate can cause staining. Hard candies additionally include pigments that can stick to your teeth. The good news is that they normally received’t cause any hurt until you devour these treats typically.
4. Soy sauce and balsamic vinegar
Dark-pigmented sauces like soy sauce and balsamic vinegar are also known to stain teeth.
According to Rene Y. Dell’Acqua, DDS, the high acid content in foods like vinegar can cause the enamel to break down, allowing a stain to set in.
“Basically anything you put into your mouth that can stain a linen napkin has the ability to cause stains on your teeth,” she says.
5. Citrus and acidic food gadgets
Citric foods like tomato or lemon are vitamin packed however these colourful eatables can erode your enamel layer when consumed in extreme portions. They may also improve your threat for growing cavities.
6. Red wine
According to Joseph Salim, DMD, acidic foods and drinks like red wine can roughen and open up the pores within the enamel of your teeth.
“As the enamel becomes rougher and its overall surface area increases, this can pave the way for the colors found within foods and beverages we consume to become etched to the surface of your teeth,” Salim says.
He explains that this phenomenon can happen when drinking red wine. The acidic nature of this beverage can “etch” the enamel and allow the dark red particles of wine to adhere to its surfaces.
7. Tea
Like coffee, tea contains tannins that can stain your teeth. The good news is that there’s a simple way to cut down on tea’s tooth-staining abilities.
One 2014 study found that adding 2 percent milk to tea can significantly reduce the ability of tea to stain teeth. More specifically, researchers determined that casein, a protein in milk, was responsible for preventing tea-induced stains.
8. Energy and sports drinks
According to one 2012 study, both energy drinks and sports drinks are associated with the breakdown of enamel, which contributes to stains.
This study also indicated that energy drinks seem to have higher acidity and enamel dissolution associated with them than sports drinks.
Sources: healthline.com, healthshots.com
