Many people, myself included, like to drink coffee. However, when it comes to the health of your teeth and gums, there are a few things you should know. The most obvious is the staining effect of coffee on your teeth. But this, in and of itself, does not necessarily pose a true risk to the health of your teeth or your gums – unless you consider staining to be indicative of plaque build up.
Coffee has some other problems to consider, however. Coffee is an acidic drink. You know that if you have ever felt the effects of coffee on an empty stomach. This acidity is harmful to the health of your teeth. When the environment in your mouth becomes more acidic, calcium and phosphate can be pulled directly out of your tooth enamel thereby weakening the tooth structure and perhaps eventually leaving you open to a cavity.
The mouth can naturally repair this damage, but it requires the environment to become more alkaline or basic to facilitate the process of rebuilding enamel through your saliva. When you consider how many people drink soda or coffee all day long, you begin to imagine how complicated this problem becomes. If you are always putting acidic things into your mouth, when will the enamel have a chance to repair.
Decreasing the pH in your mouth can have the effect of causing anaerobic, harm-causing bacteria to grow more quickly. This, in turn, can lead to more bacterial waste acid being dumped onto your teeth and gums. As you can see the problem can compound, especially when you drink coffee, soda or other acidic drinks all day long.
Perhaps at this point you are suddenly realizing the reason you have spent so much money at your dentist’s office? If this situation remains chronic, where do you think this path will lead to in the end? Learn what you can do to help preven this problem from causing you problems and costing you money!
David Snape is the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease. ISBN: 978-0981485508
Disclaimer: This article is for information and entertainment purposes only. It does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, visit your periodontist or physician for advice, diagnosis and treatment.
Advert: Mardi Gras Dress (contact if you would like to advertise here)