Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in our lives, it has many benefits. But it does bother me sometimes that I found there are coffee stains on my teeth after drinking coffee. If you have the same problem as me, just keep reading, I’ll introduce 5 ways to solve this problem.
Why Does Coffee Stain Teeth?
Tannins are the primary culprit for coffee-stained teeth. Due to the tannins present, red wine and tea can also stain teeth.
The tough outer layer of teeth, called enamel, shields them from damage and decay. However, since enamel has tiny pores, small particles, such as tannins, can get stuck in them. Tannins are brown, so when they clog pores in your teeth, they may begin to appear yellowish-brown.
Remember that tannins can be beneficial before you completely give them the boot. Tannins are a type of polyphenol, a plant-based antioxidant. So tannins are an important source of coffee’s health-promoting qualities.
What Are the 5 Best Ways to Remove Coffee Stains from Teeth?
There are different things you can try to remove coffee stains from your teeth. Here, we’ll discuss the top five strategies.
1. Quality Oral Hygiene
Any dental professional will tell you that quality oral hygiene is the most important thing you can do for your teeth. This means brushing and flossing, along with regular dental cleanings and checkups. Your teeth staining problems might not all be resolved by oral hygiene, but it will keep your teeth and gums healthy. Additionally, it’s critical to maintain strong enamel to avoid tooth discoloration.
Remember that not everyone responds to these treatments. To completely get rid of the coffee stains on their teeth, many people require multiple treatments.
2. Professional Dental Whitening
Your dentist may also offer in-office whitening with hydrogen peroxide or calcium peroxide. Your dentist can use higher concentrations of these ingredients, so changes to your dental color can last much longer. However, due to the high concentrations, these treatments must be performed by a professional to prevent dental or oral damage.
3. Prescription Overnight Treatments
Additionally, your dentist may advise using whitening products at home. These treatments use carbamide peroxide — a special gel — and a mouthguard. Treatments run the same risks of dental sensitivity because peroxide is used in them. As opposed to white strips used at home, the results last longer.
4. Whitening Strips
Over-the-counter whitening strips are another preferred method for removing stains from teeth. Despite the name “bleaching strips” — whitening strips do not contain bleach (which is a good thing, because ingesting it would be harmful).
The stain-removing agent used in many strips is hydrogen peroxide. Research shows that hydrogen peroxide strips are more effective than whitening toothpaste. However, the hydrogen peroxide can alter your oral microbiome (bacteria) and cause dental sensitivity.
Using strips too frequently can cause permanent damage to your teeth. If you decide to use peroxide whitening strips, try to keep usage to a minimum and choose products with lower peroxide concentrations.
There are also newer whitening agents on the market, like phthalimide peroxy caproic acid (Because they are more recent, there is less information on their long-term safety. PAP) white strips.
5. Whitening Toothpaste
Whitening toothpastes contain abrasives. These abrasives work by removing stains from your teeth and bringing out the natural color. The drawback of this approach is that some of your protective enamel will be scraped off by the abrasive. To avoid this, many whitening toothpastes use softer abrasives, like sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate. However, it’s possible that these gentler abrasives are insufficient to remove the stains from your teeth.
Other ingredients that can brighten your smile, like citrate or peroxide, may also be present in whitening toothpastes.
Is It Safe to Use Teeth-whitening Treatments Every Day?
Research shows that frequent exposure to hydrogen peroxide, especially in high concentrations, can damage your teeth. It can harm the gums and tissue surrounding your teeth, weaken your enamel, cause tooth sensitivity, and weaken your enamel.
The safest way to use teeth-whitening products is to follow the instructions on the product. If the product didn’t produce the desired results, be sure to wait the advised amount of time before attempting it (or another whitening product) once more. Also check to make sure the product is approved by the American Dental Association (ADA).
The best choices for you should be discussed with your dentist. If there is another factor other than just coffee changing the color of your teeth, your dentist can help identify it.
What Are the Best Ways to Prevent Coffee from Staining Teeth?
Coffee stains on teeth can be time- and money-consuming to remove. Fortunately, preventing coffee-stained teeth is much easier:
- Use a straw: A straw might be used to drink coffee. It lessens the amount of coffee that comes into contact with your teeth.
- Chew gum: Gum chewing increases salivation, which might stop tannins from adhering to enamel.
- Brush after drinking coffee: After drinking coffee, brushing your teeth within 30 minutes helps remove tannins from your enamel before they have a chance to cling to pores.
- Rinse after drinking coffee: After drinking coffee, try rinsing your mouth if you can’t brush. It still works better than nothing, even though it won’t remove as much tannin from your enamel. You can drink plain water or mouthwash.
- Add milk or cream: Consider not adding milk or cream if you prefer your coffee black but detest the stains. One study found that adding milk to black tea significantly reduced staining. Tea has more tannins than coffee, which may make it even more stain-causing even though researchers didn’t study coffee. Another study also showed that black coffee stained dental composites more than coffee with milk or cream.
Conclusion
It is more convenient to avoid coffee stains than get rid of them. Try the methods I have given above to avoid coffee stains on teeth. And if you still find your teeth have coffee stains on them, don’t worry, there are also plenty of ways to remove them from your teeth.
