If one of your favorite beverages is wine, then get ready to celebrate. You might already be aware of wine’s many health benefits including protecting certain bacteria from sticking to your teeth. However, you might not like how red wine stains your teeth.
Before you pour your next glass of vino, learn how you can prevent red wine teeth stains with these tips from our Rochester Hills cosmetic dentist.
1. Brush Your Teeth Before Drinking Wine
One of the reasons wine stains your teeth so well is because your teeth are absorbent. If you have food particles on your teeth, the red wine will stick to the particles and the particles will act like a sponge that’s stuck to your teeth. This causes the wine to rest on your teeth longer than it would if you were to have clean teeth. Brushing and flossing before you drink red wine can help prevent food particles from sticking to your teeth and wine from sticking to food particles.
2. Use a Straw
You might feel less classy drinking your wine through a straw, but doing so helps prevent the wine from touching your teeth as much. If you feel odd drinking wine through a straw, consider drinking a red wine sangria instead!
Drinking wine through a straw can also help prevent the acid from wine from damaging your enamel. Too much acid exposure on your teeth can cause your enamel to wear away and become soft. When this happens, your teeth have less protection against bacteria that causes cavities.
3. Eat Cheese
You probably already know that cheese pairs well with wine. Well, here is your excuse to combine the two every time you drink red wine. Cheese covers the teeth in a waxy coating that can protect your teeth from absorbing red wine. For even better results, eat hard cheese. Hard cheese wipes the enamel clean!
4. Drink Water With Wine
If you really don’t want stains from your red wine, consider drinking sparkling water with the wine. Sparkling water can help wash the wine away from your teeth. To try this method, take a drink of wine and immediately after swallowing, take a drink of sparkling water and swish it around in your mouth before swallowing. Just note that sparkling water has a high acidity level which can harm your enamel.
5. Chew Sugarless Gum
Sugarless gum is an easy way to freshen your breath on the go and also clean your teeth when you’re unable to brush them. Chew sugarless gum before drinking wine to clean your teeth and then again after you’re done drinking the wine to clean your teeth. An added bonus: it will freshen up your breath!
6. Use Teeth Wipes
Teeth wipes are a quick alternative to brushing your teeth that you can take with you on the go. These cloth wipes are perfect for wiping your teeth after eating to wipe away food or after drinking wine to remove wine from your teeth. Consider keeping these on hand if you’re planning to drink wine.
7. Get Professional Teeth Whitening or Porcelain Veneers
The last way you can protect your teeth from stains is by getting rid of them using professional teeth whitening in Rochester Hills. At Signature Dentistry of Rochester, we use KÖR Deep Bleaching. This is one of the most effective professional whitening treatments to get rid of deep stains. The system involves wearing whitening trays with whitening gel in them at home. You will use the trays for several weeks until you reach your desired results.
Cosmetic dentist Dr. Wolfe advises patients to wait a day or two after having professional teeth whitening before consuming red wine and other potentially staining beverages and foods. Teeth are most prone to staining immediately following a whitening treatment. This is because teeth whitening treatment temporarily opens the pores of the teeth, increasing the chances of discoloration. Red wine should be avoided for about two days after whitening. White wine is not staining to teeth. Good oral hygiene and routine dental treatment can keep your teeth white and healthy.
If you would prefer whitening results that don’t fade over time, porcelain veneers are a better option. With porcelain veneers, we place thin porcelain sheets over the front of your teeth to change the shape, size, and color of your teeth. Porcelain veneers do not stain which means that you can drink wine without fearing purple teeth!
Remove Red Wine Teeth Stains in Rochester Hills
If you are ready to celebrate and not willing to suffer the embarrassment of having stained teeth, contact our cosmetic dentist in Rochester Hills, MI to schedule a teeth whitening treatment or porcelain veneers appointment at (248) 656-2020 or contact us online. Dr. Wolfe and the team at Signature Dentistry of Rochester offer a variety of dental services to protect your beautiful smile!
