Does Coffee Damage Your Teeth? How Acidity & Staining Affect Enamel

You’re standing in line at Dunkin when you notice signage for their new summer menu. You see their Nutty Toffee Iced Protein Latte. Fifteen grams of protein in a medium? That’s more than in two eggs! Nice, right?

What the signage doesn’t tell you, though, is just how much sugar comes along for the ride. Order a large for even more protein (23 grams) and get 66 grams of sugar — 45 of those grams being added sugars.

That’s roughly the equivalent of two and a half Snickers bars. It’s also a lot for your teeth to contend with.

There’s the sugar itself, of course, but there’s also the acidity of the drink. There’s also the fact that most people don’t drink concoctions like this all at one. They sip it for the course of an hour or more while commuting, working, studying, or running errands. Every sip bathes the teeth in sugars and acids.

Nor is this drink particularly unusual.

Coffee drinkers are increasingly drawn toward such drinks or just customizing their brew with their own preferred blend of sweeteners, flavored syrups, creamers, cold foams, and other additions. According to one industry survey, 77% of coffee drinkers add creamer or other lighteners to their coffee. About half sweeten it.

And that raises an interesting question: When people worry about coffee damaging their teeth, are they really talking about just coffee?

Because there’s a world of difference between a cup of black coffee and a sweetened, lightened coffee beverage. Until we remove the latter from the equation, we can’t really say much about the effect of coffee on your smile.

Many people think that coffee’s ability to stain teeth is because of its dark color. But if it were just about color, then you wouldn’t expect light-colored drinks to contribute to staining. Yet white wine does. That’s because of the acids in the wine. They can temporarily soften and roughen the enamel surfaces protecting your teeth. The rougher the surface becomes, the easier it is for stains — and bacteria — to settle and hang on.

Think of it as the difference between wiping mud off a sheet of glass and wiping it off rough concrete. The rougher surface gives the mud more places to cling.

The same basic principle applies to your teeth.

Coffee is also acidic. What’s more, it contains pigments and tannins that contribute to staining. It’s one reason why regular coffee drinkers often notice yellowing or darkening over time — staining that can become worse due to the darkening that can occur with age.

Staining, however, is only part of the story. The other part is a little more nuanced.

Although coffee is acidic and can affect the surface of enamel, contributing to staining, recent research suggests that the effects may not be as extreme as those of other popular beverages.

For the study, researchers exposed enamel samples to a variety of drinks, including coffee, Coca-Cola, and fruit juice, then examined the effects. While the soft drinks and juice were found to damage tooth enamel, being very acidic, coffee consumption resulted only in extrinsic staining, with minimal surface modification.

Put another way, coffee proved to be a better stain-maker than enamel-destroyer.

That distinction matters because staining and damage are not the same thing. A coffee drinker may notice yellowing or darkening long before any meaningful enamel erosion occurs.

But that discussion assumes we’re talking about coffee. Black coffee. Or as one coffee-drinker on our team likes to call it, “unadulterated coffee.” The challenge, of course, is that the average coffee order bears only a passing resemblance. Flavored syrups, sweetened creamers, whipped toppings, cold foams, and other additions can dramatically increase both sugar exposure and acidity.

And then there’s the issue of time.

A sweetened coffee drunk with breakfast is one thing. A sweetened coffee slowly nursed from 8am until noon is another. Each sip reintroduces sugars and acids into the mouth. Instead of giving your mouth time to recover, each sip essentially resets the clock.

Coffee can also contribute to dry mouth in some individuals. So can high-sugar diets. This matters because saliva is such a vital part of your mouth’s natural defense system. Saliva helps wash away food debris. It neutralizes acids. It delivers minerals to your teeth to replace those lost every day to regular tooth use and wear.

In other words, if you’re sipping sweetened coffee throughout the day, you have multiple factors that can work against your mouth at the same time: frequent sugar exposure, repeated acid exposure, and reduced saliva to help clean up the mess.

Fortunately, none of this means you have to give up coffee. A few simple habit changes can make your daily brew kinder to your teeth:

Drink it, don’t nurse it. A coffee consumed with a meal is generally easier on your teeth than one that’s sipped continuously throughout the morning. If you sweeten your coffee, every sip reintroduces sugars into the mouth. Even black coffee repeatedly exposes teeth to acids.

1. Drink with a straw. This lets a lot of the beverage bypass direct contact with your teeth.. There’s still some exposure, of course, but it’s typically reduced.
2. Be mindful of add-ins. A splash of milk or creamer is one thing. Multiple pumps of flavored syrup, sweetened creamers, whipped toppings, and other extras can dramatically increase sugar exposure.
3. Rinse with water afterward. A quick rinse can help wash away some of the acids, pigments, and sugars left behind.
4. Wait before brushing. Acidic drinks can temporarily soften the enamel surface. Give your teeth a little time before reaching for the toothbrush.
5. Stay hydrated. Adequate hydration helps support saliva production, one of your mouth’s most important natural defenses.
6. Keep up with regular cleanings. If coffee staining is a concern, professional cleanings can often remove surface stains before they become more noticeable. We also have biologically safe whitening systems available for dealing with more entrenched, stubborn stains.

FAQs:

1. Does coffee actually damage tooth enamel?
2. Why does coffee stain teeth so easily?
3. How can I drink coffee without staining or harming my teeth?