How Coffee Can Help Your Oral Health

If you’ve ever searched for whether coffee harms your teeth, well, you’re not alone. Coffee’s one of the most popular drinks globally due to its high amounts of caffeine and its ability to keep people awake. Its ability to stimulate the brain and keep people working hard, leading to about 146 billion cups made in the US alone. However, it has led people to wonder whether or not it’s good for your teeth. Some researchers have looked into the effects coffee has on teeth and found some interesting results.

How Coffee Aids Your Oral Health

Coffee’s a naturally acidic substance. Normally, because of the tannins present in coffee, it can stain your teeth’ enamel, causing discoloration and even staining within the dentin, the second layer of the tooth. However, its acidity has been reported to have some substantial benefits against bacteria. According to studies from the Journal of Conservative Dentistry, coffee can be consumed as a preventative for cavities if consumed without additional additives, such as sugar and creamer. This is due to how it prevent Streptococcus mutans, one of the central culprits of bacteria found in cavities, from adhering to the tooth’s surface to develop plaque.

How coffee is processed and prepared also seems to affect its effectiveness against cavities. Some of the outlined differences the study pointed out included:

• Ground vs. Instant: When prepared through a filer and hot water, ground coffee can prevent bacterial adhesion to the teeth, but when compared with instant coffee, instant coffee has a higher advantage due to how the coffee beans are processed.
• Caffeine vs. Decaffeinated: The study also attempted to compare caffeinated versus decaffeinated, but found no difference in bacterial adhesion to the tooth’s surface.
• Trigonelline: This component appears to be the key to this preventative measure. While it adds the depth and aroma known so well, it’s argued that the better the coffee tastes, the better it is against cavities.
• Vitamins and Minerals: Coffee has also been shown to provide numerous nutrients, including B vitamins, potassium, and manganese, all of which can help aid the body’s metabolism and reduce inflammation, both key elements for good oral health.

What About the Side Effects of Coffee?

Besides the potential jitters from caffeine throughout the day, its acidity also presents a problem for teeth. While it also removes bacteria, it also wears down enamel, softening it up to the point where discoloration, staining, and a greater risk of infection occurs. When high amounts of sugar and creamer are added, many of those benefits often disappear as the sucrose and lactose molecular compounds make the teeth more susceptible to cavities. To help avoid this side effect, one of the best ways to reduce the risks of cavities while drinking coffee is to drink water afterward, as the water can wash away harmful bacteria and aid your saliva in keeping your teeth healthy.