Coffee and Drinks for your Dental Health

The Fall weather has started to move in and more of us are focused on warm and cozy drinks and snacks.  This is indeed the time to lounge about with friends and family and indulge more with hot drinks in the morning and at night.  This is generally what my family looks forward to each and every year, but it is not always the best thing for us.  Many people talk about dental health when it comes to all the Halloween candy, but they never even glance or think about all the extra drinks we are consuming and what they may actually be doing to our mouths.  So today I want to go over some of the drinks we love and maybe some of the drinks we should work on drinking less of or cutting out altogether. 

 

Now the first drink that comes to mind in the fall is also a staple for many people in this country.  The morning cup of coffee or in reality the 2 or 3 that follow are a staple for the working American.  The average American drinks two cups a day and that is a massive amount of coffee.  Think about it covering your teeth every single day and the thing is that it is not good for your teeth.  Coffee is highly acidic and actually erodes the tooth enamel that you have.  This means that over time it softens your enamel and it does start to erode.  Not only does is take away your precious enamel but it also can stain them.

The fact is that when coffee eats away at your enamel is allows the dark color to stain your teeth as well.  This can go deep and be so bad as to not be able to be brushed away.  That is because it goes an extra layer into your teeth and it will take a professional cleaning or whitening to actually get rid of coffee stains.  That is definitely something to think about because we also drink a lot more coffee in the colder months due to it paring well with snacks and treats even at night.  The decaff coffee is still damaging even though it doesn't have caffeine in it, but it can still damage your teeth. 

 

So one thing to do is to cut back on your coffee intake.  That means drinking less of it.  This can be very challenging due to the fact that it is addicting.  The caffeine in the coffee can cause withdrawal if you stop drinking it and that can have severe headaches that follow.  This is why people start and never stop.  So substituting another caffeinated beverage is a good idea.  Many people chose a version of tea to substitute their morning cups of coffee with.  They may also decide to simply take caffeine pills and drink water instead.  That is probably the most healthy way to cut back on drinking coffee but it is the hardest habit to change it out for.

 

But even if you are going to drink those sugary drinks or coffee consistently it is always a good idea to drink some water right after.  Water can rinse your mouth and help produce more saliva. Salvia is your mouth's natural cleaner and is nice to always have lots of. So stay hydrated and stay safe this fall season.

Protect Your Dental Health

With the influx of the pandemic, a whole lot of focus has been put on your health this year.  The COVID-19 Pandemic has opened people's eyes to new subjects and topics in their health that had not thought of as much before.  The dental hygiene area is a huge area that has boomed this year.  I think the reason for this is pretty self-explanatory.  We all have to wear masks in almost all public locations in the United States and we are all smelling our own breath.  The reality is that many Americans are not keeping up with the correct dental routine and are currently experiencing the bad effects of those decisions now on a daily basis.  It is ok, the majority of people are in the same boat and are learning to up their dental care together.  So let's go over a few of the basic things that we all need to do to help our bad breath or halitosis or just regular dental routine.

 

The first thing that most people think about is brushing their teeth more.  That is a pretty good thing to start with and is really the staple of dental health in America.  What you should be looking at is the number of times you are brushing and what you are brushing with.  A large portion of dental issues can be attributed to a lack of brushing.  So how many times should you brush a day?  The ADA suggests that you brush your teeth at least twice a day.  They usually suggest using a hi in fluoride toothpaste if you are an adult to help protect your teeth. 

Personally, this year I have upped my brushing game because of the ease of brushing from home instead of work.  Now with me working at home, I am able to add in an extra brush for lunch which brings my total of brushing to three times a day.  I use a fluoride toothpaste for breakfast and lunch and a whitening toothpaste at night.

 

My toothpaste of choice at night has been a natural charcoal toothapste.  This allows me to brighten my teeth while I sleep and still get the protection I need against bad plaque and tartar building foods and drinks during the day.  I think this system has kept my own my healthier and brighter too.

 

Another area that is also many times forgotten about is the importance of flossing.  Now, I will admit that I hate flossing.  I think the whole floss string is really gross.  But there are other options that I found.  There are disposable floss sticks that you can buy in packs of 100 or more which allow you to flow without touching your mouth of floss string.  With this invention, I am able to floss and get all the extra particles of food stuck between my teeth that are damaging my teeth while I sleep.  To me, this addition in my dental routine has allowed my breath to get better because all the extra halitosis causing particles are no longer there at night.

 

So there are many things you can do to up your dental health care routine.  I suggest adding in some brushing and flossing.  But the main thing you can do is visit your local dentist.  It is important to have a profession let you know where your mouth is healthwise and also to give you the best plan to follow for you.