5 Easy Ways to Prevent Coffee Staining Your Teeth
Most people know that coffee stains teeth. Even if you have your teeth whitened, drinking coffee is still going to make them look a little dingier. That said, there’s no reason to give up your coffee altogether. Following these five tips won’t prevent staining completely, but it will help lessen the damage.
- Drink Through a Straw
Coffee isn’t going to stain your teeth if it doesn’t actually encounter them, so try drinking with a straw when you can. This is something you probably already do when drinking iced coffees or more exotic cups, so it’s easy to get into the habit of taking every cup through a straw.
- Add Milk to Your Brew
Adding milk helps in several ways. Firstly, a milky coffee won’t have as high a concentration of staining compounds as a black coffee. More importantly, the proteins in milk bind to those staining compounds to further reduce staining. Whole milk or whole cream work best.
- Make with Mineral Water
Yes, mineral water is more expensive than what comes out of your tap, but it might be worth filling up your kettle with it when you’re making coffee. You see, mineral water boasts a high mineral content, hence the name. Staining compounds in your coffee bind to the calcium ions of your teeth; if you use mineral water, those compounds also bind to ions in the water.
- Rinse Out Your Mouth
After you finish drinking your coffee, take the time to quickly rinse out your mouth with a glass of water. This will help remove staining compounds before they have a chance to stain your teeth. You can also chew gum to promote saliva production.
- Speed Up Your Drinking
Maybe you don’t have a straw, can’t be bothered with mineral water, hate milk, and don’t have the opportunity to rinse. If so, simply try to drink a little faster. Instead of sipping slowly over a longer period, drink in gulps. You don’t have to down the coffee in one, but avoid sipping slowly to minimise the contact time between coffee and teeth.