Drinking tea and coffee has become a routine, and consuming it for health benefits or as a pick-me-up two-to-three times per day is the norm. However, excluding the adverse health effects, tea can stain your teeth, making them lose their shine.
It doesn’t mean you should stop drinking tea right away, or drinking once can stain your teeth, but this blemishing happens over time with daily tea consumption.
A bright smile can help boost confidence, but having blemishes on your teeth can make you conscious of your smile and hinder you in various ways.
So, it brings us to the question of how to drink tea without staining teeth.
The most common method is to use a straw and prevent the contact of tea with your teeth as minimally as possible. However, you can also try adding milk to your tea (strange but works), drinking water right after you had tea, brushing your teeth after consuming tea, or consulting your dentist for a whitening agent.
So, if you don’t want to part ways with tea, you have come to the right place. Here we will tell you several ways to continue drinking tea and prevent it from staining your teeth.
How To Drink Tea Without Staining Teeth
It’s no secret that tea can stain your teeth. In fact, many people avoid drinking tea altogether because they don’t want to deal with the potential discoloration.
But what if there was a way to enjoy your favorite cup of tea without worrying about stained teeth? Here are a few tips on how to do just that!
1. Using a Straw
Arguably, the brightest bulb in your arsenal is to use a straw to enjoy your tea. The result of losing the whiteness of your teeth happens due to the contact of tea with your teeth.
So, your primary focus should be to reduce the contact between the two as much as possible. It may seem strange to drink coffee or tea via straw at first, but remember some teas like boba and coffees come with a straw in their packaging.
So, it will help you kill two birds with one stone, i.e., drink tea without staining your teeth and look classy if you prepare the perfect packaging.
If you are unsure what kind of straw you should use for drinking your tea, fret not! Check this article to find the perfect match for you.
2. Adding Milk to your Tea
Adding milk to your tea may not be an option for those trying to lose weight, and further bad news, the higher the fat content in milk, the better its prevention against stains from tea.
Tannins in the tea are the culprit behind the stains that appear over time on your teeth, but they are also beneficial.
These tannins help stain-causing agents to stick to the enamel more firmly but adding milk to your tea results in these tannins getting accompanied by proteins, which rope them straight to the stomach.
So, less opportunity for your teeth to get stained, but not an option for weight loss. Check out how much detox tea you should drink daily to lose weight.
3. Drinking or Gargling With Water
This option may not be viable for those who love to enjoy their tea and relish the long-lasting flavor in their mouth.
The mechanics behind drinking water or gargling with it are relatively the same as the ones discussed in the first method. In this case, instead of preventing the contact of tea with teeth, rinsing with water helps reduce the effect of blemishes on your teeth.
However, another downside of this method is that it is not as effective as the other two methods.
It depends on not giving enough time for settlement between teeth, but it is not foolproof. So, it can help reduce the effect to some extent and is best if used with other options.
4. Brushing Your Teeth
The most effective but not very practical or likable option is brushing your teeth right away after having tea.
The problem arises due to continuous deposits of teeth staining agents over time, so brushing your teeth whenever you have tea can help you avoid the discoloring of your teeth.
However, there are some controversies about whether you should brush your teeth immediately after ingesting tea or wait for half an hour to an hour. The reason behind this is the softening of the enamel layer, which can get damaged.
This layer is non-regenerative and can lead to tooth loss if destroyed (entirely).
5. Strong Teeth Whitening Agents
While you can always use locally available whitening agents; however, if you drink tea or coffee regularly and 2-3 cups per day at that, then some discoloration can’t be helped. So, supermarket teeth whitening agents can help you to some extent, but they aren’t potent enough to give you the whiteness you desire.
Here, your dentist plays a crucial role, so you should get an appointment with one or visit your regular one for the whitening agent.
It is because the whitening agents used by dentists are more potent than your store-bought ones, but they aren’t meant for regular use. So, it is better to use them with the advice of your dentist and only if you notice stains on your teeth.
Not all teas stain teeth, for some types, the effect is more serious, and for others, it is a bit less. So, if you want to reduce the staining effect, opt for fewer caffeine options, avoid drinking black tea, and don’t soak the tea in hot water for too long.
6. Avoid Drinking Tea
Last but the worst case scenario, if the problem has worsened, you should refrain from drinking tea. It will take some time for all of the remedies discussed in this article to work and show results, so you have to control your urge to drink tea.
Conclusion
To conclude, precaution is better than refraining from drinking tea entirely. So, it is best if you start practicing one of the discussed methods regularly, or you can always choose to go for multiple options (whichever is readily available at the time).
So, to prevent the tea from discoloring your teeth, take advantage of a straw, incorporate high-fat milk into your tea, brush your teeth after drinking tea, use a dentist-recommended whitening agent, or clean your mouth by gargling with water, and that’s all. Enjoy!
