7 Tricks To Keep Red Wine From Staining Your Teeth Faith Xue by FAITH XUE
This article was originally published on www.byrdie.com on August 8, 2014
It’s Friday—which, if past experience holds true, means the clinking of wine glasses may be in your near future. Also in your future: the unsightly result of purple-tinged teeth after your third glass of Pinot Noir (along with a strong urge to find a karaoke bar and start singing "Like A Virgin"). The latter we can’t help with, but we can intervene with your wine-teeth predicament.
Ahead, seven tricks to keep your pearly whites pearly and white—even in the face of one of its greatest foes. So you can smile back at the charming stranger across the room without scaring him off. Cheers!
Keep reading to find out seven genius tricks to avoid wine-stained teeth for good.
Brush Before, Not After
Your first instinct after looking at your purple-toothed smile in the mirror may be to immediately reach for your toothbrush—don’t. Dentists say that brushing your teeth right after drinking wine can damage your tooth enamel, since the high acidity of wine make your teeth super sensitive to abrasion. Instead, brush your teeth and hour or so before. Why? Wine clings to and stains the plaque in your teeth, so brushing it away before you drink will decrease your chances of a wine-stained smile.
Sparkling Water
Drinking sparkling water between glasses of wine will not only ensure that you don't get carried out of the restaurant at the end of your meal (ahem), but will also keep wine stains at bay. Swish it around in your mouth and allow the bubbles to loosen up and scrub away the stains.
Cheese
Wine and cheese go together like a smoky eye and nude lip, for more reasons than one. Eating cheese will cause calcium to build up on your teeth, as well as close the tiny micro-pores on the surface—a.k.a. make it way more difficult for wine to stain your teeth. Stick to hard cheese, since they have more calcium (and are usually healthier!).
Fiber
That spinach salad you ordered as appetizer? Chomp away with vigor. Foods with high fiber content, like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and potatoes, help produce your mouth produce more saliva and scrub away the stains as you chew.
No White Wine Before
We’ve all been there—we start with white wine to “take things slow”, and the next thing we know, we’re guzzling Pinot Noir like there’s no tomorrow. Try to avoid this at all costs—mainly because the acidity of white wine erodes your enamel and basically acts as a primer, making the red wine tannins “stick” to your teeth more. But also because, you know, self-control.
Post-Wine: Wipe It Up
So you tried to keep all these things in mind, but the Syrah was just too good—no judgment. If you’re a serious wino, might we suggest wine wipes, like these ones by Borracha. Use them before and after your wine-scapades to keep your teeth bright.
Post-Wine: The Lime Trick
We’ll start this off with a warning: use this trick very sparingly. The high acidity of citrus fruits like limes can wear down your tooth enamel over time, so only employ this in case of emergency. If your teeth are grape-tinged and you suddenly remember that, say, you have to give a toast to the bride in front of hundreds of people, beeline to the bar and ask the bartender for a lime slice. Rub it gently against your teeth and lips, and watch the stains disappear. But, like we said: in case of emergency only.