Is Your Daily Specialty Coffee Drink Ruining Your Teeth?
by Harold Coleman
Can you not go a day without having a specialty coffee from your favorite coffee shop? If so, you may not realize that these beverages can be very bad for your teeth for the following reasons.
Specialty Drinks Are Filled With Sugar
There is a big difference between drinking regular coffee and a specialty drink. That flavored caffeinated beverage has many different additives in it that are filled with sugar, which are typically the syrups that give the drink its main flavor. In addition, they have whipped cream in them that also has sugar. You may not realize how much more sugar you are consuming every single day, which is washing over your teeth.
Specialty Drinks Are Sipped Slowly
People tend to savor their specialty coffee drink, which causes them to sip on it slowly over an hour or so. This means that those sugars are slowly coating your teeth during the entire time that you are drinking. It's more harmful to your teeth to gradually drink something sugary over a long period, rather than drink it quickly and be done with it. In addition, many specialty drinks are sipped from the cup rather than from a straw, which puts your teeth more at risk of being coated with the beverage. This is going to increase your overall risk of tooth decay.
Specialty Drinks Are Acidic
The nature of drinking a coffee drink is going to introduce your teeth to a lot more acidity, which is bad for the enamel of your teeth. While this can be said with drinking any type of coffee, it's something to keep in mind if it is part of your daily routine.
Specialty Drinks Stain Your Teeth
Dark beverages like coffee are already more likely to cause your teeth to become stained by drinking it regularly. Some specialty beverages also have additional food colorings in them that also contribute to staining. This may be a concern for you if you are not a fan of the color of your teeth or if you recently had a teeth whitening procedure performed.
What can you do if you still want to enjoy your specialty coffee drink regularly? Consider drinking the beverage faster and rinsing out your mouth when you are finished. You can also cut back on how often you drink them, or you can look for sugar free flavor alternatives to cut back on the sugar coating over your teeth.
For more information on taking care of your teeth, contact a dental office in your area, such as Dr. Jon Douglas Lesan, DDS, RpH, PA.
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About Me
I have never liked my teeth. I had a lot of dental problems, including deep staining and oddly shaped teeth. Every tooth did not have the same shape, and some were rounded while others were more square. Not surprisingly, I never smiled in pictures and not even much in real life. This left people thinking I was mean before they even met me. My dentist told me my best bet to improve the look of my smile was a set of porcelain dental veneers. He said they could make all my teeth white and the same shape. I said I wanted them without any hesitation, and we scheduled my procedures. I love my new teeth, and they really did change my life. I created this blog to help other people living with teeth they don't like realize that they do have options that can improve their smiles and their lives.