Wines that Make Your Teeth Whine
Red Wine, White Wine Cause Staining but in Different Ways
For wine drinking and tooth staining, its not a question of if, but whether you want your teeth stained now or later.
Everyday, we’re bombarded with choices: Pepsi or Coke? Spaghetti or linguine? Blow Pops or Tootsie Pops? Cruller or doughnut?
When you think about it, though, these aren’t really “choices” at all. They may vary slightly in taste, sure, but they all bring about the same end: Weight gain, sugar highs, and terrible teeth.
So with this in mind, here’s the latest “choice” that isn’t really a choice at all: red or white wine. For when it comes to which is the better one for teeth, it’s pick your poison.
Traditionally, one would think that white wine is better for your teeth. And why wouldn’t you, especially if you consider yourself a red wine connoisseur (i.e., while red wine is heralded for its antioxidant activity, it’s lamented for its teeth-staining ability after drinking). But when researchers put both to the tooth test, conventional wisdom was turned on its head.
To gauge whether white wine was really “tooth-tacular” from a non-staining perspective, researchers from the International Association for Dental Research submerged cow’s teeth into a goblet of either red wine or white wine. While not identical, cow’s teeth and human teeth bear several similarities. After an extended period of time, they then put both teeth into separate glasses of black tea to see if there were any changes to their hue.
Their findings indicated that white wine was something of a table-setter, as the teeth in the goblet of white wine were more stained than the red wine-immersed teeth. The red wine caused staining initially, but over time, the white wine was the worse way to go.
So does this mean that you should skip the wine altogether at your next meet-and-greet? Not necessarily. As documented here in the past, wine has some tremendous health benefits.
Furthermore, while I have no doubt that the researchers findings are reliable, wine and tea are positively friendly to your teeth compared to other libations. Juices, sodas, energy drinks and sports drinks are all highly acidic, all of them eating away at tooth enamel. Tooth enamel protects the teeth, but they slowly lose that protection when there’s a constant flow of acid. Enamel erosion leaves the teeth more susceptible to cavities, infections, and extreme sensitivity to hot and cold.
While there is some acidity in tea, its richness in polyphenols helps offset the acidity by fighting back frightful plaque.
When it comes right down to it, though, it’s all about moderation. Both red and white wine are great choices for your overall health; it’s just not the best of drinks for picture taking or natural tooth whitening.
For that, stick with water.
Sources:
msnbc.msn.com
wvhc.staywellsolutionsonline.com
webmd.com
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Posted: December 27th, 2009 under Oral Health.
Tags: Oral Health, Red Wine, teeth staining, white wine
