Keeping Teeth White While Drinking Coffee

It's almost summer and along with summer comes.... iced coffee!!
I had my first taste of iced coffee when I went on a trip to Taiwan.  At first, I thought, "How weird is this? " But when I tasted it, "WHOA! Where have you been all my life??"

For me, winter is best with a hot cup of green tea. Summers are definitely iced coffee time.
Now that warmer weather is right around the corner, I have a slew of requests for custom whitening trays and refill kits.

My latest article for Weekly Biz, Japanese newspaper is about how to keep your teeth whiter if you're one of those people that absolutely have to have their cuppa joe.

Enjoy the article and enjoy the iced coffee! Yumminess!

Can I Drink Coffee While Keeping MyTeeth White?

My Dad loves drinking strong dark coffee. I think he’s an Italian at heart. He had travelled to Italy as a young man and ever since his first espresso; he complains that all other coffees are weak and tasteless. Lately, he’s been changing the way he takes his coffee. It had me wondering because ever since I was little, the only way he would take his coffee was with sugar and black. A few months ago, he started adding honey to his coffee instead of sugar. This time, I see that he adds milk.  Were his tastes changing with age?

If there’s something my Dad likes more than coffee, it’s FREE coffee!  When I had lunch with him last week, I knew exactly which diner to take him to. The one that had free coffee refills!  I watched him pour in some honey, then some milk. Maybe he likes the sweetness of honey better? Maybe he wants a smoother coffee?  When I asked him why the change in habits, he answered, “White sugar is really bad for your body. If I want to sweeten something, I’ll put in honey.  It’s all natural.”  But why add milk?  “I’ve found that black coffee stains my teeth too quickly. By adding milk, it stains less.”

I’ve also recently read that adding milk to coffee will indeed lessen the staining.  It makes the coffee a lighter color and there are compounds in milk that helps prevent the stains from sticking. It works to prevent staining on real teeth as well as denture teeth.  If you don’t want to add milk to your daily coffee, the best thing to do is rinse with water afterwards, chew a sugarless gum and make sure your tongue is clean. 

 I asked my Dad if he heard this or read it somewhere. He said, “No, it’s just common sense! I want to keep my smile bright even if it’s not my own teeth!”  I’m glad that even at 84 years of age, my Dad looks younger than he actually is! Having a brighter smile definitely helps!