Wine and Cheese… Good for Your Teeth?
Richview Family Dentistry wants to give you the skinny on how having cheese with your wine can protect your teeth
While it’s true that wine can be harmful to your teeth, the good news is that having a little cheese with your wine can actually protect your teeth.
The Bad News:
- Red wine – Red wine is likely to leave dark stains or film on your teeth that will stain them quickly.
- White wine – white wine has a higher acid content which slowly dissolves the enamel which is a more permanent stain caused by the slow erosion of the enamel.
- Sparkling wine – It’s the bubbly that we really need to watch out for. Sparkling wines tend to have the highest acid content.
The Good News:
- Eating cheese with your wine helps neutralize the acidity in the wine, protecting the enamel from erosion.
- Eating cheese will cause calcium to build up on your teeth, as well as close the tiny micro-pores on the surface. Stick to hard cheese, since they have more calcium and are usually healthier.
BUT! – Don’t brush your teeth right after finishing a glass of wine. Brushing causes the enamel that has softened from the acid to be brushed away quicker.
INSTEAD – brush your teeth an hour or so BEFORE drinking.
Another solution is to drink Sparkling Water in between glasses of wine. Swish it around in your mouth and allow the bubbles to loosen up and scrub away the stain.
And one last tip is to eat Fiber. Foods with high fiber content, like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and potatoes help produce more saliva and the chewing will scrub away stains as you chew.
If it’s time for a check-up or cleaning, make an appointment with Richview Family Dentistry. Call us to make an appointment today at (931) 647-2243
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