Did You Know…Red Wine Rots Teeth!

October 25, 2009 Area of Interest: Dentistry

I have been inundated by questions about an article that recently appeared in the paper that claimed that white white rots teeth.  Everyone has accepted that red wine is not good and it is especially associated with staining.  However ALL wine does have a negative impact on teeth because of their acidity.  In this particular test,researchers from Germany soaked teeth in different wines for up to 24hours.  White wines were found to cause the most loss of enamel and this confirmed that frequent consumption of white wine does lead to dental erosion

So what to do?  With all acidic food and drinks, the same principles apply

1. Don’t take excess :)

2. Frequency v/s quantity.  Consuming the acidic food in small quantities over a whole day for example is worse than eating everything in one go.  This same principle apples to eating sugary things because the bacteria in your mouth converts the sugar to acid

3. Rinse with a fluoride mouthwash to neutralise the effect, if none availabe even rinsing with water helps.

4. Follow with an alkaline food eg Cheese to neutralise the effect of the acid

5. DO NOT brush your teeth immediately after.  This is a common myth but the worst thing to do! The acid softens the enamel of your teeth and you would in effect be brushing away your enamel. Chew sugar free gum for 10mins instead.  This produces saliva which helps stabilise your enamel

Comments

2 Responses to “Did You Know…Red Wine Rots Teeth!”

  1. Ruth on December 15th, 2009 10:49 am

    Interesting! I did not know that white wine rots your teeth-glad I don’t drink it!
    I have tried many pastes, and a few whitening strips but had
    only marginal results. I recently found a free trial for a new kind of teeth whitener
    gel that is a pen-like applicator.I sent for the free trial and tried it. It did in fact
    whiten my teeth. I am now thinking of ordering a full supply but I wanted to check
    around for feedback first. Has anyone else tried this?
    I found it at http://www.whiteteethsecrets.org
    Thanks~

  2. uchenna on January 8th, 2010 1:38 pm

    HI Ruth,

    Thanks for your comment. I do not know what exactly is in the product or the strength of it but one thing I can say with total confidence is always have a professional dentist examine you and prescribe which type of whitening is best for you

    I have had patients that we have had to provide them with multiple crowns all because they bought something inappropriate on the internet. Others that have suffered terrible pain because they were either not suitable with out a specialised design of their custom whitening trays because they had receeding gums or they had decay.

    I am not saying there would be any problem with the product you found, I do not know anything about it to be able to comment.

    Teeth whitening is a fantastic treatment that I highly recommend but you do not NEED it. Since it is a choice, do your research, save up and have a professional do it for you. That way you get beauty AND health!

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