Red Wine and Teeth
If you want to keep your teeth as white as possible, conventional logic is that you should avoid staining liquids like coffee, soda, tea, and red wine. A recent study indicates that though red wine may still stain your teeth, it may not be as bad for your teeth as previously thought.
The researchers found that red wine, both with and without alcohol, may inhibit the growth of certain bacteria in your mouth. The study specifically found that red wine was effective at limiting the growth of F. nucleatum and S. oralis, two types of bacteria found in oral film. S. mutans is the bacterium that is most responsible for the development of caries, and red wine was shown to have no effect on this particular strain. The fact that red wine was able to limit the growth of at least some forms of bacteria found in oral film had wine lovers around the world excited by the news, though. There is still some debate if that means if there are any significant benefits to our oral health to be derived from red wine. Furthermore, participants in the study had to hold the wine in their mouth for two minutes every seven hours for seven days. These conditions may be hard to replicate at home.
While red wine may have some benefits to your oral health, drinking it will still end up staining your teeth. The best way to fix that, other than refraining from having any wine in the first place, is to call up our dental office to schedule a tooth whitening session.