Does Green Tea Stains Your Teeth?

People who drinks green tea is only to maintain their physical health, not many are aware that green tea affects their oral health. If your smile isn’t as bright as you’d like, think about what you put in your mouth.We know that coffee can stain those pearly whites, but does tea stain teeth? The answer is yes.

Causes for stain

The tooth enamel changes as you get older ,Like a piece of pottery that gets fine lines [over time], the stain gets into the little cracks and crevices on your tooth enamel

Green tea does stain the teeth

Green tea today is the most consumed beverage amongst youngsters and adults specially health concious women as it contains essential nutrients which are very low in calories and high in antioxidants. Two cups of green tea is healthy, but when you tend to turn something into habit and increase the amount of intake there will also be some drawbacks . Excessive intake would not damage the teeth to that extent but does moisten the teeth mildly. It can change the natural white color of your teeth to a more yellow and stained appearance,” opines dentist Dr.Cynthia Prabhu

How does it happen?

Not just green tea, the same can be said for herbal teas as well, though their staining properties is lesser than that of black tea. Green tea contains plant compounds known as tannins which increase the staining potential of teeth although to a lesser degree than black tea.” But how and why do teas in general stain the teeth? “Such drinks are acidic in nature and increase the porosity of the enamel (outer layer) of teeth. This makes it easier for the pigmented molecules found in teas to adhere to the enamel and therefore cause staining,” she explains.

You need to be careful with these three things in your foods :

• Chromogens — compounds with strong pigments that cling to enamel
• Tannins — plant-based compounds that make it easier for stains to stick to teeth
• Acids — these make tooth enamel softer and rougher, so it’s easier for stains to set in

Other foods and drinks that stain the teeth

Like tannins in tea , Caffeine in coffee has a corrosive effect on the tooth enamel. In addition, the acid in coffee can contribute to the wearing away of enamel, which exposes the yellower layer beneath it called dentin. Some other drinks which are high acidic in nature are orange juice, tea, tomatoes and other citrus juices. Cola, wine, sauces like soy, tomato and curry sauce also tend to stain teeth. Smoking also causes staining and discolouration of the teeth due to the nicotine present in it. Both red as well as white wine too can stain the teeth.

Treating the stain

Stains are normally removed by scaling and polishing of your teeth. This is a one-sitting procedure which should be done every six months along with a routine checkup. However, it is not to be treated a substitute for daily brushing and flossing, says Doctors

One could also opt for teeth whitening, an hour-long one-time procedure. However, some things that need to be kept in mind are that no two people are alike and the procedure may work faster for one person than another. Also, teeth whitening costs will range from dentist to dentist and patient to patient depending on the difficulty and severity of the case.