Question:
Any ideas on which promotes more (or less?) tooth enamel stain?
Black Tea?
Green Tea?
Coffee?
I figure herb tea is a freebee.
Answer:
My dentist, at least, says that black tea stains teeth fairly quickly, but
that it is also one of the easiest stains to remove. Larger particles or
some such explanation.
Definitely. I recently gave up a 20-year coffee habit and started drinking
black tea every morning. After 3 weeks my once-brilliant-white teeth were
ugly yellow. I started brushing with baking soda & peroxide (one of my
twice-daily brushings) and it seems to be reversing things well.
Black tea most certainly does stain teeth, but it doesn't stain the
*teeth*- it stains the plaque adhered to the teeth. I taste tea all
day, for a living as well as at home, and have never had a problem
unless my oral hygiene drops. Tea is a good source of fluoride, which
helps prevent tooth decay, to boot. So basically, be vigilant about
keeping those tooths brushed and flossed, and see a dentist regularly.
If your teeth are stained, while unsightly, i don't believe this is
doing long term harm. It might actually be good, warning you in a much
less offensive way than those awful red dye tablets the dentist might
use to visualise plaque.
Of course, I'm not a mouth care professional, so if you're worried,
see your dentist/hygenist.
As for green tea, the plaque is probably stained, but since the major
green tea compounds are only visible in the ultraviolet, you're
probably not going to see them :)
Herbal tea is anyone's guess.
I don't know that any of them really stain the enamel that much as I drink several pot's
a day and have not noticed any change in colour. More importantly, my wife who is a
dental hygiene 'enthusiast' , has not noticed anything, and believe me she would mention it !
I can tell you that tea does contain quite some quantities of flouride and has been found to be
effective in the retardation of tooth decay and cavities(caries). Poorer quality leaf tends to be
better for flouride content than the two leafs and a bud.
