It is cooling down outside. The leaves are starting to turn and the weather says, give me a jacket. That means that Fall is here and it is time to get into the fall spirit. Many times this means that Starbucks is launching a new campaign for pumpkin spice something. It also means that most of us are going to give in and drink lots of those fall drinks that we so love. There is really only one problem with that and it is the dental costs that stack up due to the love for fall drinks. Today I want to go over some of the things to know about those awesome fall drinks and what they are doing to your teeth. And maybe a good tip to know on how to avoid all the dental visits than may be incurred after a good fall season of drinking.
Remember that when you are drinking some of your favorite fall drinks that they are hurting your teeth twice. What do I mean by that? Well, a good majority of those awesome tasty drinks at Starbucks are actually coffee-based. That means that you are now not only drinking a very sweet and sugary drink but also one that has coffee in it. The big issue that comes up with this is the tooth decay that can occur with sugary and coffee-based drinks. It comes down to the acidity in the coffee and also the sugar in the drink. These both go into the whole area of breaking down the tooth enamel you have worked so hard to build up.
Be careful not to drink too many of these drinks and try to brush your teeth after getting the acid and sugar off your teeth. If you don't the extra wear on your tooth enamel will start to cause sensitivity and create those wholes and cavities in your teeth. That is definitely not a fun thing to deal with and not worth the joy that a pumpkin spice latte can bring. So be careful with those fall drinks.
Another area that people pick up on in the fall is simply drinking more warm beverages. This is something that I do, but be careful because coffee tends to be the main drink that people add to their fall diet. There really is nothing wrong with coffee, but in large quantities or multiple cups each day it can quickly erode your teeth. Not only will it cause tooth decay to occur faster, but your teeth will undoubtedly get more yellow and brow. The staining that happens when the coffee acid eats away at your teeth and then the brown color of it attaches to your enamel is inevitable. So make sure to be careful on how many cups of coffee you are drinking each day. It may be costly on your wallet and your dentist bill to fill some tooth holes.
One major way to avoid some of the extra tooth decay is to cut back on the number of drinks you are drinking. That one is obvious, but you can also cut back on the amount of contact your teeth have with these substances. I know plastic straws are unpopular but metal ones are still good for the environment. So drink through a straw to help avoid the tooth contact.
