Wine is said to have plenty of health benefits. Slowing down brain decline, lowering the risk of heart diseases, boosting your immune system are a few of them.
Yeah, right. Like we need ‘health benefits’ to drink wine. Let’s just be honest, we all love to unwind ourselves with a glass of wine at night. The only downside is that it stains the teeth. Well, that’s no big deal. We can just rush to our toothbrushes after finishing that glass, right?
No. Don’t do that. In fact, that can actually make it worse.
As reported by BBC News, brushing your teeth right after drinking wine can lead to the loss of tooth enamel, and there is no way to replace it. After drinking wine, it is important to wait at least for an hour to brush your teeth.
So, why exactly is wine bad for your teeth?
Wine, both white and red, has high levels of acidity. It can demineralize the teeth and can damage its protective barrier leading to ‘dental erosion’. As per a study published in Nutrition Research, white wine can be more erosive in comparison to red wine. It reads –
“It was demonstrated that white wines have higher erosive potentials than red wines. Within the limits of this study, it can be predicted that a frequent consumption of white wines might lead to severe dental erosion.”
The good news is, eating food that is rich in calcium, like cheese, can actually counter the acid attack the drink causes. Wine attacks the calcium in the teeth and by eating calcium-rich food, one can neutralize the acid attacks of the drink.
So, the moral of the story is, keep some cheese in your reach, and if you like wine, start liking red more. The burgundy stain on your teeth is much better than ripping off the calcium of your teeth, or worse, not having teeth at all.