Which do you prefer, soda or tea? Do you like sodas or fruit juices best? Or is plain water best for you? Everyone has their favorite drink, and different drinks affect your teeth differently. Is tea bad for your teeth? Is water good for your teeth?
Smiles by the Bay wants you to have a healthy, beautiful smile. Some drinks can help you with that, while others may do more harm than good. Here is a little guide on what drinks are best for a dazzling smile.
Is Tea Bad for Your Teeth?
You’ve probably seen several guides on what to eat with braces, but those guides don’t always tell you what to drink with braces or just for healthy teeth. One subject that’s come up has been tea and green tea. Is drinking tea bad for your teeth? Is green tea bad for your teeth?
Both tea and green tea have healthy benefits. They have antioxidants that can help the body’s immune system, cardiovascular system, and skin. But can they help your teeth?
Tea and green tea can reduce bacteria and acids in your mouth that can cause tooth decay. Tea contains fluoride, and brewing tea with fluoridated tap water increases the fluoride that strengthens your tooth enamel.
Tea also contains micronutrients called polyphenols, which can help keep your gums healthy and prevent gum disease. The alkaline properties in tea can also reduce bad breath.
How Tea Is Bad for Your Teeth
Tea does have a few downsides when it comes to your smile, depending on the type: black tea, herbal tea, and green tea.
Tea contains tannins that can stain your teeth over time, turning them yellow or brown. The darker the tea, the more tannins it contains, and the faster it will stain your teeth.
So, is green tea bad for your teeth? Will white tea stain? Possibly, but it will take much longer.
Can herbal tea stain teeth, especially if it’s green or white tea-based herbal tea? It can, especially if it contains dark herbs or fruit juices, such as black currant, blood orange, or rooibos.
The extra ingredients in herbal teas may also contain acids that can damage your enamel. For example, black currant, ginseng, and blood orange are very acidic. Others, such as mint or lavender, are less acidic and will do less damage over time.
The best plan is to drink tea in moderation. Rinse your mouth or drink water after your tea to help remove any sugars or acids left on your teeth. Brush your teeth often to prevent tooth staining and reduce the chances of tooth decay and gum disease.
Are Sodas Bad for Your Teeth?
Is diet pop bad for your teeth? What about clear sodas, like lemon-lime-flavored drinks? Does soda stain your teeth?
Sodas bring all kinds of problems to your teeth. Dark and colored sodas can stain your teeth over time, but all sodas have problems when it comes to your oral health.
Sodas contain sugars that can build plaque on your teeth and gums, leading to tooth decay and gum disease. They also contain acids that can settle on your teeth in that same plaque, increasing your chances and the speed of tooth decay.
Coloring in sodas can stain your teeth over time. They can also stain braces and clear aligners, especially if you drink them frequently. Diet sodas are just as bad as those with sugars. They often contain artificial sweeteners proven to be detrimental to your health.
This also applies to “energy drinks,” whether carbonated or sugar-free. Energy drinks often contain large amounts of sugar to boost energy, but they also have acids, and both can produce bacteria in your mouth that can cause as many issues as regular sodas.
The best solution is to limit your energy drink and soda intake if you can’t eliminate it. Ensure you rinse your mouth or brush your teeth after consuming soda or energy drinks to reduce the chances of damaging your teeth.
Do Juices Stain Your Teeth?
Fruit juices have good and bad qualities when it comes to your oral health. On the one hand, fruit juices often contain added or natural sugar. These sugars can cause plaque buildup and cavities.
Darker fruit juices, including grape juice, tomato juice, or cranberry juice, can stain your teeth. Fruit juices also tend to be more acidic, particularly citrus juices such as orange juice, lemonade, and grapefruit juice.
On the other hand, fruit juices can be very beneficial to you. They contain vitamins and minerals that benefit your health, including vitamin C to boost your immune system, vitamin K to build strong bones, and vitamin D to do both. Some juices also contain minerals like potassium, which reduces fluid retention and bolsters heart health.
The best solution with fruit juices is to read the label. Look for juices that are all natural with no sugar added. Rinse your mouth or brush your teeth afterward to reduce acids and sugar left on your teeth.
Does Milk Help Your Teeth?
We’ve all heard about the benefits of milk on teeth, but milk can also contain sugar. Is milk bad for teeth or good for them?
Milk has a lot of great benefits for your oral health and overall health. Milk is one of your best sources of calcium, which builds strong bones and teeth.
Milk is a great source of phosphorus, too. We need phosphorus to “activate” the calcium to strengthen bones and teeth. Phosphorus also works with other vitamins and minerals to build different systems in your body.
Milk also has proteins that can strengthen your enamel and help prevent tooth decay. It can even neutralize some acids that cause tooth decay.
However, milk does contain natural sugars, and flavored milk, such as chocolate or strawberry milk, has added sugars. If left on the teeth as plaque, these sugars can cause tooth decay.
As with juices, sodas, and tea, you should rinse your mouth with plain water after consumption and brush your teeth at least twice daily to remove plaque.
Caring for Teeth in Annapolis, MD
Keeping your teeth healthy is the key to successful braces treatment or treatment with clear aligners. Certain drinks are more healthy than others when it comes to your teeth. The best drink you can have is good, old-fashioned fluoridated water.
Other drinks are OK if consumed in moderation. It’s also important to brush and floss your teeth regularly to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Rinsing your mouth between brushings can help, too.
Want to know more about the best food and drinks for braces and your teeth? Smiles by the Bay can help guide you through your braces treatment and create a beautiful, healthy smile. Schedule an appointment for braces treatment in Annapolis, Kent Island, or Denton, MD.