Holiday season is just about here in the sunny Pacific Northwest.
That means you’ll hopefully have plenty of gatherings and celebrations with family and friends, and plenty of opportunities to indulge in lots of the delicious sweets, drinks and foods of the season.
As you enjoy this season’s festivities‘ just beware of one thing: ‘Tis the season to stain your teeth.
What you eat and drink during the Holidays (or any other time of year) can affect the color of your teeth. Anything you eat or drink that can stain your clothes, can also stain your teeth.
Here’s a list of some foods and drinks that can stain your teeth over the Holidays. You might find some of these surprising!
6 Foods that Can Stain Your Teeth This Holiday Season!
- Wine – Red or White
Red wine is a well-renowned teeth staining culprit. The red grapes’ natural pigment gives the wine its color, but it’s the tannins in the wine that give it the delicious taste, and allow the pigment to bind to your teeth. Red wine is also very acidic. This acidity etches your tooth enamel, making it more porous, and easier for stains to stick. What about white wine? Tt’s also high in acidity and tannins, and drinking it can also erode your tooth enamel. While drinking white wine by itself won’t stain your teeth, it will make your teeth more prone to stains from some of the foods you eat with your wine. - Tea & Coffee
Whether its drinking a cup of tea sitting beside the Yule log, or a double tall cappuccino to get you through a shopping spree, drinking tea or coffee will stain your teeth. Black, green or even herbal tea remains are one of the top ways you can stain your teeth! It’s because tea also has high levels of acidity and tannins. The darker you drink it, the more likely it stains. Whether you drink it hot or cold, tea will definitely leave its mark on your teeth. - Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries are high in vitamins, but the berries’ vibrant color can also stain the enamel of your teeth. Cranberry sauce is also loaded with sugar and it’s sticky, so it can linger on your teeth long after you’ve eaten your meal! - Berry Pies
Pass the pie? The holidays are popular for mouth-watering fruit-filled pies. However, just like with cranberry sauce, pies with berries and dark fruits can also stain you teeth – blueberry, blackberry or cherry pie. While the acidity from the berries wear down your tooth enamel, the pie’s sugars and sticky fruits can linger in your teeth and promote tooth decay too. - Clear Sodas
Dark sodas like Coke get more notice for causing tooth stains, but drinking a clear soda, or a sparkling cider, can also stain your teeth. Much like white wine. Dark sodas can have an immediate effect on tooth discoloration, but a clear or light soda can also darken your teeth over time as the high acids from these beverages soften the tooth enamel, which allows stains from other foods and drinks to set in. - Balsamic Vinegar
Mind the marinades and vinaigrettes over the holidays. Many holiday salads and other meals just wouldn’t be the same without them, but balsamic vinegar is another tooth staining culprit. It’s high acidity can wear down your tooth enamel, while also allowing the vinegar’s dark color to more easily stain your teeth
The Holidays are a season of celebration, and why shouldn’t they be? It’s been a long year! So, avoiding many of these foods and drinks just isn’t going to happen. But you can minimize some of the effects of Holiday teeth stains by staying on top of your oral hygiene, and being mindful of your diet.
** Try these tips to help Reduce Holiday Teeth Stains!
If you’d like to make your smile even more remarkable (and brighter) over the Holidays, we can offer you some excellent take-home & in-office whitening treatments! Just call (206) 524-1000 for a whitening consultation or reach out to us online!
P.S. Brighten Your Smile for the Holidays & SAVE – Visit Our Teeth Whitening Special!