Red Wine May Protect Your Smile

We all know that red wine is one of the primary culprits when it comes to making your teeth look dingy, right? It’s way up there on the list of things to avoid – like coffee, tea, and cola drinks – if you want to keep your smile bright. And if you really need or want a red wine, you can save your teeth and sip it through a straw. But you may not want to do that, it may feel odd and just isn’t the experience we want when indulging in a nice red wine.

But guess what – red wine is not the enemy of your teeth. It may be their best friend. Why? Because red wine may lower the ability of destructive bacteria to stick to teeth.

Bad Bacteria

A single mouth can be home to more than 6 billion bacteria, an impressive number when compared to 7.3 billion total human population of earth. Some of the bacteria in your mouth is helpful or at least neutral. But pathogenic bacteria, specifically “Streptococcus mutans” feeds on sugar which enables them to multiply super-fast and cling to each other, creating a “biofilm” that’s commonly referred to as plaque.

Bacterial plaque is the primary cause of 90% of all dental disease because bacteria secrete acidic waste products. This creates an acidic environment in your mouth that weakens teeth and leads to decay.

A study on the oral health effects of red wine conducted by Maria Victoria Moreno-Arribas, a researcher with the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid, indicates that red wine makes it harder for bacteria to form a biofilm, cling to your teeth and penetrate them and your gums. Bad bacteria can then be more easily washed away by your saliva, a rinse with plain water, or your toothbrush. Yay, wine!

But it’s not all good news…

Wine may protect your teeth from bacteria (more research needs to be done) but we already know it can stain your teeth.

There are two types of tooth staining—stains that occur on the outside of the tooth (extrinsic) and those that occur from within (intrinsic).

Extrinsic stains happen because tooth enamel contains microscopic depressions that can catch and hold any stain-producing substances that they come into contact with. Darker colored drinks, food that contains vibrant spices like turmeric, and even condiments like ketchup can make your teeth darker over time.

You may also have a greater tendency for extrinsic staining if your saliva flow is lower than normal. Among its many properties, saliva helps clear the mouth of food debris after we eat; when saliva levels are too low more food particles remain in the mouth longer, increasing the potential staining effect of these foods.

Intrinsic staining originates inside a tooth, and can be caused by damage to the tooth’s interior structure. Your dentist may be able to remove or lighten the stain with treatments that include placing a bleaching agent in a tooth’s pulp chamber during a root canal treatment. There are also cosmetic restorations that can be used to cover a heavily stained or discolored tooth. A porcelain veneer, for example, is a thin layer of dental porcelain that’s permanently bonded to the front of a tooth. A veneer is fabricated by a dental technician to exactly match a patient’s normal tooth color, even down to hue gradations along the length of the tooth. Once applied, the veneer masks the stains of the underlying tooth.

Keeping your teeth white

What can you do to brighten up your smile without wrecking your budget? You have some great options.

1. Professional cleaning – this may be all you need to get your smile in shape. Your hygienist will work to remove plaque and calculus (hardened plague, also known as tartar) from both above and below the gum line. Light staining may be removeable, plus your teeth polished with a gently abrasive paste that makes it a little harder for plaque to build up again. Average cost: $150-$200.*

2. Professional whitening – yes, you can use off-the-shelf whitening kits, but to ensure you don’t damage your existing dental work or end up with unevenly colored teeth it’s a good idea to get your teeth whitened by a pro. Your dentist may also advise you not to whiten your teeth if you have gum disease, fragile dental enamel, especially sensitive teeth, or specific medical conditions. During a professional whitening treatment, your dentist will protect your gums with a desensitizing gel or shield before applying a peroxide gel – that’s stronger than anything you can purchase for safe at-home use – to your teeth. The solution is then activated by exposure to a high-intensity light. Expect to spend a half-hour to an hour in the dentist’s chair. Average cost is $450-$600.*

3. Eat clean – According to the American Dental Association, if your teeth are just slightly less white than you’d like, eating crunchy foods like apples, fibrous ones like veggies/greens can help polish away surface stains. The rough surfaces of strawberries may help too.

Your dentist is always your best source for advice on what types of treatments will work for you and the costs involved. And seeing your dentist regularly for checkups and cleanings is one of the absolute best ways to keep your teeth healthy and bright.

Feel like your budget is too tight to get regular dental care? Or maybe your dental insurance doesn’t cover cosmetic treatments? Consider joining a dental savings plan to get reduced rates (typically 10-60%) on preventive and restorative dental care. Many dental savings plans offer plan members reduced rates on cosmetic treatments like whitening and overlays. You can review multiple dental savings plans here, to find the one that meets your needs.

*Average cost, per DentalPlans.com aggregated data, for uninsured patients receiving specified dental treatments in zip codes 10025, 33135 and 60610