Tea Stains teeth?

by **deadfingers** » Jan 9th, '07, 21:21

Tea Stains teeth?

by deadfingers » Jan 9th, '07, 21:21

Well I went to the Dentist today for my yearly checkup and he said I had a pretty good amount of stains. He asked if I drank coffee and I told him I drank tea. Well I knew I got stains from drinking tea but I didn't think it was all that bad. Well he said I should rinse out my mouth with water after I drank tea, it would help. Now I am concerned, I may reduce my tea drinking to maybe once or twice a day and switch to water.

So how do you all "fight" this? I know you can get whitening toothpaste and such and I have that but it doesn't seem to fight against that. Any help? Suggestions?

by **kissmyhuman** » Jan 9th, '07, 21:36

by kissmyhuman » Jan 9th, '07, 21:36

Black tea is pretty close to being as bad as coffee is. If you drink mostly black teas then switch it up with some green or white teas.

I personally stick to whitening toothpaste and try not to drink more than one or two cups of black tea a day, less if I can avoid it in favor of green.

Maybe you should try brushing three times a day and see if theres any difference in the next two weeks or so, or use it in conjunction with whitening gum or mouthwash.

by **TeaFanatic** » Jan 9th, '07, 22:41

by TeaFanatic » Jan 9th, '07, 22:41

Actually green tea is typically worse for staining teeth, I'm not exactly sure of the science behind that, but I know it is at least equal to black in staining power. There is another forum post on here about tea stains, I'll go try and find it.

by **Chip** » Jan 10th, '07, 00:30

by Chip » Jan 10th, '07, 00:30

...but tea contains flouride which is good for teeth...tea also naturally fights bad breath.
A little tea staining is no big deal...it may vary from person to person though.

by **Mary R** » Jan 10th, '07, 01:50

by Mary R » Jan 10th, '07, 01:50

It can be pricey, but nothing beats a professional whitening, and you really only "need" that done once every couple years. Barring that, the Crest Whitestrips are alarmingly amazing, though they may not whiten as well around the gumline as they do on the rest of the tooth surface and can give you extremely sensitive teeth for a good couple of weeks.

For prevention I like Crest's Dual Action and Extra Whitening toothpastes, but they have this new product out that is specifically meant to be used at night and supposedly keeps working over a 14 hr period.

by **deadfingers** » Jan 10th, '07, 02:56

by deadfingers » Jan 10th, '07, 02:56

Hah well I am in the military so I get free dental work done. :wink:

I don't want to go in every month or so and get a cleaning done, it wastes time and well I don't have all that free time for that kind of stuff. I have the Crest whitening toothpaste and such. I don't mind a little "staining" but I noticed it got pretty bad in some parts which I was surprised. So how bout Oolongs? Are those pretty bad for staining teeth as well? I don't drink black tea much, but it's usually one that I will drink over green or white. I don't like much green or white teas, Oolong is my favorite and black is good for the mornings.

by **lenny7** » Jan 11th, '07, 16:27

by lenny7 » Jan 11th, '07, 16:27

deadfingers wrote:Hah well I am in the military so I get free dental work done.

Deadfingers, can you mention which unit you're in? I think my Dad's unit is still over there...the 44th Engineer Battalion. They may have transferred to Iraq though. He was in Korea during the big party they had in the early 50's.

by **deadfingers** » Jan 11th, '07, 16:58

by deadfingers » Jan 11th, '07, 16:58

I'm in the Comm squadron, sorry I don't want to give out any specific info for various reasons. You do know I am in the Air Force right? That unit sounds like Army or Marines to me.