Five common foods that could be staining your teeth

Sometimes you can follow every rule in the book in a bid to keep your teeth as white as possible in vain. Not even brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing or gurgling mouthwash seems to help. 

In a desperate attempt to whiten your teeth, you might be ignoring a culprit that could be what you are putting in your mouth. Here are some common foods that could be staining your teeth.

·         Coffee and tea

Tea and coffee contain an ingredient called tannins responsible for the colour in the beverages that can stain the teeth especially if not brushed immediately after. In order to counteract this staining, you can add more milk to your tea or coffee to help in reducing the effects. When you take black coffee or tea, you are more likely to suffer from stained teeth.

·         Soda

There is nothing as refreshing as an ice cold soda during a hot day. However, the quantity we consume could be causing harm to our teeth. Soda not only contains phosphoric acid that can be harmful to the enamel by corroding it but it also contains colouring that could stain teeth and leave them yellow or brown. To reduce the effect of soda on your teeth, you can probably limit the quantity of soda you take daily.

·         Red wine

Red wine, like tea and coffee, contains tannins that can stain teeth. Tannins in red wine are from the skin, stems and seeds of grapes used to blend the wine.

Also, being acidic, red wine etches the enamel making it porous and easier for stains to stick.

·         Fruit juice

While this might be one of the healthiest drinks aside from water, they are likely to cause teeth stains. Dark-coloured juices like strawberry, beetroot, grape juices, blueberry and cranberry contain deep, rich colour that are likely to stain your teeth. Fruit juices are also slightly acidic, meaning the slowly make your teeth porous thus more susceptible to yellowing or browning.

·         Soy sauce

Unfortunately when you cook using soy sauce, the dark colouring from the sauce lingers much longer after you are done with your meals. If possible, brush your teeth immediately after taking meals containing soy sauce, or just any other meal, so as to guard your teeth from colouring.

Tip: A general rule you can follow is that if it can stain your t-shirt it can definitely stain your teeth. The best thing to do is always use toothpaste with whitening components and visit your dentist for teeth cleaning regularly