Your Teeth And Wine: What You Need To Know About Preventing Stains
Posted on: 17 July 2018
Both white and red wines have the ability to stain your teeth. These wines are acidic in nature, which results in them eroding your tooth enamel and also creating small crevices in your teeth. While white wine does not have the same pigmentation that red wine does, it still has the power to create the foundation for staining. Therefore, if you are a wine lover, it is important that you know how to protect your teeth from stains.
Drink Water with Wine
One way to prevent stains from occurring is to pair your wine with a glass of water. If you start the evening off with water and keep drinking between glasses, you may be able to prevent the tannins sticking to your teeth in the first place. However, if you wait until later in the evening, the water can still be helpful.
Ideally, sparkling water is best due to the carbonation in it. The reason that you want to opt for sparkling water is because the carbonation works to scrub away at any pigmentation and acid that is left behind in the mouth by the wine.
Eat High-Fiber Foods with Wine
Another way to prevent unnecessary stains while drinking wine is to pair your wine with high-fiber foods. Similar to the water, these foods will scrub away any pigmentation before it has the chance to settle on your teeth and become a stain. Some examples of high-fiber foods that pair well with wine include celery, spinach, broccoli, and quinoa. These high-fiber foods will ensure that you stimulate saliva production, which will help cleanse away the tannins that may have built up on your teeth.
Cheese is also a good food to eat with your wine, and it pairs really well with almost every wine out there. Cheese is high in calcium, which is good for your teeth and can help to fill in those crevices that are created in your teeth by the wine.
Brush Your Teeth Before Drinking Wine
The tannins found in wine will immediately cling to any plaque on your teeth, so it is imperative that you brush your teeth prior to drinking wine. Brush about 30 minutes before you plan on drinking or the wine may not taste very pleasant.
Make sure that you wait to brush your teeth for a little while after drinking wine; otherwise, you will do significant damage to your enamel, opening up your teeth to potential staining in the future, which is exactly what you are trying so hard to avoid. If you need to freshen your breath or stimulate saliva production, chew some gum.
Reach out to a cosmetic dentist to learn about teeth whitening options if your teeth have already suffered from wine stains.
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