No matter how marvelous your outfit or how great your hair looks, stained teeth always look unattractive. Your smile is generally the first thing people will notice about you. If your teeth have stains and discoloration, it might leave the wrong first impression. Fortunately, if your teeth aren’t naturally a perfect hue, teeth whitening in Rancho Mirage is the perfect solution.
Numerous food items influence the development of teeth stains. One of the biggest contributors to stained teeth is red wine. Being in Rancho Mirage, we have access to some of the best wines in the Palm Springs area which is great for wine lovers, but not so much for your teeth. On a positive note, you don’t have to give up red wine to avoid stains. Instead, we offer some alternative solutions like tips to prevent red wine stains and cosmetic dentistry treatments to help hide stains.
What’s in Red Wine?
So what exactly makes red wine stain teeth? Red wine includes a combination of acids, tannin, and natural dyes. These ingredients work together to produce dyed saliva which then coats your teeth. If you have plaque or food debris stuck to your teeth, it will absorb the red wine like a sponge and stick to your teeth even longer than it should. Regardless, any amount of time red wine spends on your teeth can affect their appearance.
The acid in red wine can also soften and damage your teeth’s enamel. The enamel is the hardest tissue in your body that protects the crown. Consequently, if you brush your teeth right after sipping wine, you risk further damage due to the pressure involved. This is why it’s a good idea to sip water right after your wine-tasting marathon.
Tips to Avoid Red Wine Teeth Stains
1. Brush Your Teeth Before Consuming Red Wine
Red wine loves to stick to plaque. With this in mind, we recommend brushing your teeth an hour before you plan to drink wine. Do not brush your teeth minutes before drinking wine because the toothpaste residue combined with wine can have an adverse effect on your palate.
If you’re not able to brush your teeth before grabbing a glass of wine, consider chewing on a piece of gum or eating food that cleans your teeth like hard, crunchy fruits and vegetables including apples and carrots.
2. Pair Red Wine and High-Fiber Foods
The fiber in high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains could scrub and brush away the stain. Spinach salad, anyone?
3. Drink Sparkling Water
Your saliva is your greatest ally when it comes to fighting off those red and purple bullets of red wine stains. To increase your saliva production while sipping red wine, you might want to drink sparkling water in between. While it’s not a cure-all to red wine stains in teeth, the carbonation could greatly benefit less staining by scrubbing the stain away before it could fully settle down.
4. Eat More Cheese
Or anything with lots of protein. These food sources will help you build more calcium in your teeth. Cheese, particularly the hard ones, could help polish off fresh wine stains and make your pearly whites more resistant to stain by closing off those micropores. Eating cheese is like waxing your teeth where the wine simply rolls off.
5. Drink Through a Straw
You might feel a little silly drinking red wine through a straw, but it limits the amount of exposure of wine on your teeth’s surface. If you feel too silly, consider drinking sangria made with red wine instead.
6. Use Teeth Wipes
Teeth wipes are a convenient way to ensure you always have clean teeth on the go. Teeth wipes are small cloths that you can use to clean food from your teeth. They’re helpful to use before sipping on red wine. Keep them in your car or in a purse or bag you carry with you so you’re always ready.
The Solution to Red Wine Teeth Stains: Cosmetic Dentistry in Rancho Mirage
If you’re thinking of putting off the Rancho Mirage Wine and Food Festival next year to maintain your white smile, you don’t have to. If your teeth aren’t as white as you’d like, cosmetic dentist Dr. Strober recommends professional teeth whitening which leaves teeth dramatically whiter in just one hour. Our patients tell us that their teeth continue to lighten over the next few weeks, up to 10 shades in all. Because not everyone is a candidate for teeth whitening, we will conduct an oral health exam prior to bleaching your teeth.
If you’re searching for longer-lasting results, porcelain veneers or BioClear might be a better option for you. Porcelain veneers and BioClear cover the front of your teeth and do not stain. This means your white teeth won’t suffer the consequences of sipping on too much red wine.
Now sure which cosmetic dentistry option is the best to hide your red wine stains? Call our Rancho Mirage cosmetic dentist at (760) 832-7915. Patients from around the Palm Desert area trust our office for optimal oral health and an unforgettable smile.
