Thursday, 22 July 2010

• Foods That Stain Your Teeth

  
  
  Nice picture, huh?  I'm not saying to avoid these foods, per se.  Some of them fit rather well into the "healthy" category, and should remain part of most people's diet.  I'm just sayin' - I just took a quiz on WebMD, and found out that well, these foods DO stain teeth.  Don't blame the messenger, as "they" say. 
  
  
  
  * Red Wine - Everyone has seen the commercial for the whitening toothpaste, right?  (You know - the one where a model is told not to drink any red wine before her photo shoot and she agrees, only to drink red wine that night and use the toothpaste so that her boss doesn't find out?). 
  
  Well, apparently there's some truth to that.  Whitening products can help fix the stains, but red wine does contain dark components that can deeply stain your teeth, disintegrating the enamel over time.  This actually happened to a friend of mine when she stayed in Europe for a year - she drank wine every night, only to wind up with a major "wine spot" (enamel-free spot on her eye tooth that would turn dark with the consumption of red wine or any dark liquid) that she had to have refilled by a dentist.  I thought it was kind of cool, but she really didn't at all.
  
  
  
  * Coffee & Tea - I know that in small doses, coffee and particularly tea are healthy additions to your day.  Just watch out for their staining qualities - like red wine, they contain dark compounds that stain your teeth pretty deeply over time, causing damage that may end up being essentially irreparable (without turning to highly expensive treatment).  I think it's wise to be careful about the cup you are using - try getting iced coffees and teas instead of hot, so that you can use a straw.  If you really just like it hot, keep the lid on top (with the little sippy-space).  You're bound to save your teeth a bit more than you would sipping out of the rim of a cup or mug.
  
  
  * Colas/Orange Soda - Both of these have those same dark elements mentioned in 1 & 2.  Orange soda came as a surprise to me, dunno about you.  I suggest switching over to Sprite and Ginger Ale.  If it's the caffeine you're after with soda (and I know this is often the case with diet soda drinkers), I highly recommend switching over to Crystal Light "Energy" packets.  They now come in two flavors - strawberry and peach-mango - and they are absolutely delicious.  Plus, they have way more caffeine than soda does.  If they stain your teeth, well hey - we don't know about it yet (they didn't make it to WebMD, and that source is the God of diagnoses, right?).
  
  
  
  *  Blueberries/Purple Grapes - If it stains your carpet, it will stain your teeth (that's what WebMD says). Purple grapes are easy to get around - just switch to green (they're better anyway)!  But blueberries, I got nothing.  Blueberries are awesome and there's no fair replacement.  If you brush your teeth immediately after consumption, the chance of staining is lessened - part of the problem with these fruits is their acidic qualities, so if you wash off the acid before it has time to cause damage, nothing should be permanent.  Well that news is almost as refreshing as the blueberries themselves!
  
  
  
  *  Melons/Peaches - I KNOW! Me too.  But we must believe WebMD on all things.  Apparently it's not so much the coloring of these fruits that causes a problem, but their acidic qualities.  As stated in #4, this acid can eat away at enamel, opening up the tooth to OTHER, permanent stains.  Again, just brush your teeth after eating these (or any) acidic foods, and you should be alright.
  
  
  
  * Chocolate (especially dark) - Both acidic and dark = a usual suspect.  I do NOT expect you to give up chocolate (blasphemy!).  Just brush your teeth after (or honestly - just chew with your back teeth.  No one cares about stains back there!  Break up bars instead of biting pieces off with your front teeth - golden!).
  
  That's all I got from the quiz I took, but presumably these items cast out categories - all things dark and acidic.  Remember, it's more important to strengthen your enamel than to whiten your teeth for long-term success.  Quite honestly, I think many whitening products rip enamel apart, anyway. 
  
  
  
  One last thing - apparently, cheese (and other low-acid foods - think "calcium") help to prevent stains and reduce the risk of cavities.  So wine and cheese is a better match than we thought!
  
  What other foods have you found stain your teeth or break down your enamel?  What foods are good for your teeth?
  

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