It’s no secret that certain foods and drinks are bad for your teeth, and there are some very well-known examples out there. Soda and coffee are two of the worst drinks for oral health, and both can be very damage to teeth and gums, but which one is worse?
Well, if you’ve ever wondered about which is worse for your teeth between soda and coffee, this guide will cover all you need to know. We’ll look at the effects of coffee on teeth and compare that to the effects of soda on teeth to see which one is more damaging overall.
Is Coffee Bad for Your Teeth?
Let’s start off with a look at coffee and what it can do to your teeth. Unfortunately for those who adore their morning cup of joe, coffee can pose quite a few different problems for teeth, affecting both their appearance and their long-term health.
One of the main issues with coffee and teeth is that coffee, like other dark strains, is able to stain teeth very easily. Regular coffee drinkers may notice dark marks along some of their teeth, and this happens when pigments from the coffee enter the pores of your teeth and get stuck in there, accumulating over time and changing the color of each tooth.
How Bad Is Coffee for Your Teeth?
But aesthetics aren't the only thing to worry about with coffee. This popular drink also contains various acids, like nicotinic acid and chlorogenic acid. In small doses, these acids are handy for ridding your teeth of bacteria, but in larger doses, acids can wear away at your teeth, resulting in long-term damages.
It’s also worth noting that a lot of people like add sugary creamers, syrups, or just plain old sugar to their coffee to sweeten it up. If you’re in the habit of doing this, you may notice even worse effects on your teeth, as the sugar can eat away at the enamel and lead to tooth decay and cavities over time.
Is Soda Bad for Your Teeth?
Next, let’s see how soda works on teeth. One of the big issues with soda is its high acid content. Acid, as you might expect, is not very friendly to your teeth, and the acids used in sodas can be really damaging, gradually eroding the protective layers on the outside of your teeth and then eating away at the more sensitive core.
People who drink lots of soda, especially high-sugar sodas, will therefore be at greater risk of tooth decay, tooth rot, and cavities. This also means that there’s a greater chance of these people needing complicated dental procedures like root canals, crowns, and tooth removals.
How Bad Is Soda for Your Teeth?
Not only do sodas contain lots of acids, but they’re also very sugary. In fact, a single glass of soda can contain the equivalent of several large spoonfuls of pure sugar, and all of that sugar can be very damaging to teeth. Again, it can lead to decay and cavities.
Even if you opt for so-called diet sodas or sugar-free sodas, the risks are still high. Even the best diet sodas are still rich in damaging acids that can wear away at your teeth through the years. Plus, both dark and light sodas are capable of staining your teeth and making them look yellow.
Is Coffee Better Than Soda for Your Teeth?
So, now that we’ve seen some of the ways in which both coffee and soda can eat away at your teeth, which one is worse overall? Well, even though they're both bad for dental health in general, experts tend to agree that coffee is less harmful.
Soda is the worst option, since it’s usually so high in both sugar and acid and can trigger serious tooth rot and decay. In contrast, the main thing to worry about with coffee is staining of the teeth; although, as explained, coffee can still contribute to decay, as well.
For this reason, if you like both of these drinks but want to ease up on one of them in order to help your teeth, it’s definitely better to try drinking a little less soda, or make the switch to sugar-free sodas to mitigate at least some of the risks.
How to Remove Soda and Coffee Stains from Teeth
Anyone who drinks lots of soda or coffee, or both, is at risk of teeth staining. This can harm your self-confidence and affect your image in more ways than one, and many people with stained or yellow teeth want to get them whitened. Fortunately, there are several whitening methods you can turn to in order to restore your teeth to their former glory:
- OTC Products - There are many OTC (over the counter) teeth whitening products you can use to brighten your teeth. These include strips, pens, toothpastes and mouthwashes. Such products can help to whiten your teeth by several shades with repeated and regular use.
- Clinical Whitening - Another option is clinical whitening. This is when a dentist uses advanced whitening or bleaching solutions to make stains on teeth disappear very quickly, leaving the teeth looking much cleaner and white overall. This is an effective but expensive procedure.
- At-Home Whitening - It’s also possible to use some simple household ingredients to clean teeth and whiten them. Baking soda can be effective when mixed with water to form a paste, and it works by rubbing away surface-level stains. However, it’s not very useful for deeper stains and can damage teeth in the long run. For those types of stain, we recommend regular use of a teeth whitening gel.
Tips to Protect Teeth from Soda and Coffee
Finally, let’s look at a few simple ways you can protect your teeth from the damages of soda and coffee, as well as other sugary and acidic drinks:
- Limit Yourself - You don’t have to stop drinking coffee and soda entirely, but it can be helpful to consume these drinks in moderation. Try to reduce the amount that you drink and consume more water, instead.
- Use Straws - Straws are great for preventing sugary sodas and acidic coffee from eating away at your teeth, as they prevent the liquid from spending too much time in direct contact with your enamel.
- Eat and Drink Together - Make sure to eat some healthy food at the same time as drinking coffees or sodas. The food can help to protect your teeth from damages and wash away the drinks by promoting saliva production.
- Drink Quickly - While it may be tempting to sip your soda or savor your coffee, it’s best to drink these drinks quickly. This prevents them from lingering on your teeth for too long and making stains.
- Rinse - When you’ve finished your cup of coffee or glass of soda, rinse your mouth with a little water. This will help to wash away those sugars, acids, and other unwanted ingredients.
