Why You Should Drink Water and Snack on Vegetables After Your Morning Coffee

Dentist Blog

Australians, like most other nationalities, love a cup of coffee — or two! According to mccrindle.com, 75% of Australians drink at least one cup of coffee per day. That's understandable, since coffee gives you that alertness you need on work mornings, and it helps you focus on your work. However, since the morning is a crucial time for your oral health, your after-coffee habits matter a great deal.

Coffee Lowers Saliva Production

If you're a coffee drinker, you'll probably be familiar with the bout of dry mouth that sometimes follows a cup of coffee. It's especially obvious when you are in a rush and haven't had time to eat breakfast or drink a glass of water. Not only is the dry mouth that follows coffee unpleasant in sensation, but it is also conducive to tooth decay and bad breath.

Normally, saliva is your mouth's natural protector against both tooth decay and bad breath. The powerful antimicrobial agents contained in saliva kill the bacteria that live and grow in your mouth. Since oral bacteria is to blame for bad breath and tooth decay, it's important that you keep your saliva levels high throughout the day.

Unfortunately, research shows that coffee reduces saliva production. If you start your day with a dry mouth, your breath and teeth will suffer throughout the day. However, you can easily prevent this from happening. After every cup of coffee, make sure you drink a glass or two of water. Water hydrates you and helps to stimulate saliva production. It also washes bacteria away from your teeth.

Coffee Leaves Your Teeth Looking Yellow

After your morning brush, your teeth should be at their whitest. However, if you then drink coffee within an hour or two, all your hard work could be for naught, at least in terms of appearance. The tannins, which help to give coffee its bitterness, also cause chromogens, or staining molecules in foods, to cling to the surface of your teeth more easily. They do this by binding with the proteins you eat.

On a morning when you are in a rush and your mouth is dry, those staining molecules may then penetrate the porous enamel layer of your teeth, leading to unsightly stains. Fortunately, you can prevent this by snacking on crunchy, fibrous vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and pumpkin. However, make sure these vegetables are raw to get the most benefit.

In a sense, chewing raw veggies like carrots is a natural way of brushing your teeth, as the coarseness of the vegetable skin helps to remove staining molecules from your teeth without damaging your enamel.

If you enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning, remember these tips to keep your breath and your teeth in good shape for the day ahead. For more information about these and other healthy dental habits, reach out to your dentist.

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30 October 2019

Dental Checkups: Preparing for Your Checkup

Hi! My name is Sarah, and as a busy professional, I understand the importance of making the most of my time. That includes everything from having productive working lunches to making the most of my dental checkups. I have created this blog to help you maximise your dental checkups. In these posts, you can learn how to prepare for your checkup, which questions to ask during your checkup and more. I am also going to have posts explaining why checkups are critical to your dental health as well as the health of your entire body. Happy reading, and thanks for visiting my blog!