What Does Alcohol Do To My Teeth?
Alcohol can have serious effects on your teeth. Most people don’t think about the consequences of drinking alcohol and how it can affect your oral health, when really they should. Alcohol such as a glass of wine, can affect the calcium on your teeth by sucking it dry, which can leave you with bad breath. In addition overconsumption of alcohol has been associated with mouth cancer. To try and keep the damage level to your oral health, to an all time low, using mouthwash while drinking will help your teeth recover from then damage caused by alcohol, and prevent bad breath, or rinsing your mouth out with water.
Each time you drink alcohol you are dehydrating your body, including your mouth. This is because alcohol makes you pass out more water, and it affects your saliva flow. We need our saliva to flow to be consistent as it helps break down plaque, which can lead to gum disease. If we have a reduced saliva flow, the bacteria in the mouth builds up and causes bad breath as well as plaque build up.
Acidic Drinks
Most alcoholic drinks are extremely acidic, which is bad for your teeth as it wears away the enamel, the calcium coating on the surface of the tooth leaving the under layer of the tooth, which contains the nerves, and is a slightly darker shade of yellow in colour exposed. This is why people suffer from pain and sensitivity, and their teeth look discoloured. In addition red wines and darker coloured alcohol drinks such as port, also add to the staining of your teeth. By sticking to clear alcohol drinks, you will help reduce the staining done to your teeth by alcohol.
For more information on how alcohol affects your teeth, and what can be done to prevent the damage or fix the damage caused by alcohol, please book in today for a free consultation, with one of our dental professionals, who can assess your case and discuss all the options available to you at the best possible price.
