-
Asked by jjfarooq to Dalya, Derek, Sarah, Tim, Tom on 19 Jun 2011.
-
Tim Millar answered on 16 Jun 2011:
Coffee can stain teeth because of the pigments in the coffee itself which give it its colour.
If you have your coffee with sugar there may be some tooth erosion but otherwise cooffe is relatively harmless to teeth.
-
-
Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 16 Jun 2011:
The coffee itself stains teeth, but is otherwise harmless… to the TEETH! Coffee can cause other problems, but that’s elsewhere in the body.
The problem with the sugar, is that it becomes food for bacteria. These bacteria eat the sugar and produce a mild acid. This acid then attacks the enamel on your teeth, causing them to decay.
-
Sarah Thomas answered on 17 Jun 2011:
The most obvious effect of coffee on your teeth is the staining. But there are other effects that you should be aware of:
Coffee is an acidic drink. This acidity is harmful to the health of your teeth. When the environment in your mouth becomes more acidic, calcium and phosphate can be pulled directly out of your tooth enamel which weakens the tooth structure and perhaps eventually giving you a cavity. The mouth can re-set the pH balance and produce saliva to help rebuild the enamel. This is fine if you only drink coffee occassionally, but most people who are coffee drinkers, drink coffee all day long, which prevents your mouth from being able to repair the damage!
Dentists recommend flossing to people that drink coffee ( and everybody else!) to help remove the plaque associated with staining. And you can get motuhwashes that help maintain the pH balance of your mouth.
-
Tom Crick answered on 19 Jun 2011:
As I sit here drinking my second cup of coffee, I am can pretty much confirm that coffee stains your teeth.
I tend to drink far too much coffee, so I make sure that I try and drink water, chew gum and look after my teeth (brushing, flossing, etc).
Comments