[amelius]

So, getting the downsides of coffee without the upsides of drinking it?

[ttymck]

Ah yes the venerable tooth decay upside.

[HPMOR]

Coffee doesn't cause tooth decay. Sugar causes tooth decay. You can drink Coffee without sugar.

[slabity]

Not a dentist, but I think it's the acid that causes tooth decay. Microbes create the acid from dissolved sugar in your mouth.

The question is whether coffee is acidic enough to do damage even without the sugar.

[searchingalways]

Hey look something I’m relevant too as a dentist.

Tooth decay requires several parameters 1- bacteria 2- bacteria food source 3- acidic environment 4- time

We all have the bacteria but the other ones are somewhat controllable. What many people don’t account for is the 4th parameter of contact time. It would be better (for your teeth, not overall health) to rapidly drink several sodas than periodically sip one for several hours.

Decay typically only occurs in a pH environment of 5.5 or lower, otherwise the enamel is resistant to the acid. So the longer the pH is lower the more likely you will develop a cavity.

[boppo1]

So... how bad is a black coffee I sip on for 30 min? Google says the PH is about 5. No

Also: it has definitely stained my teeth. Is there a way to remove the stains that doesn't weaken the enamel?

[_yb2s]

Adding milk to coffee will raise the pH to above 6.

[oilchange]

You can try drinking coffee through a straw.

[moffkalast]

So the trick is to have basic teeth.

[lsaferite]

This comment made me chuckle. Thanks!

[waboremo]

I believe the common theory is not the coffee acidity on its own, but the habits around it.

People often drink coffee slowly and without a straw, this leads to staining but not tooth decay. However the slow part contributes to the teeth not getting a chance to neutralize acidity normally. This gets worse when people then brush their teeth after their morning coffee to prevent bad breath, which the abrasiveness combined with the acid environment does cause havok.

Both of them can be avoided in a variety of ways, to reduce both staining and decay.

[joaonmatos]

You can have your espresso standing up at the café's bar like an authentic southern European and avoid the problem? Sounds great! :D

[ziml77]

Interesting. For a few years I was extremely bad about brushing my teeth. I wonder if not doing that is why my consumption of coffee, carbonated drinks, and sugary snacks/desserts did nothing to the teeth themselves other than maybe a little extra staining. The first dentist visit I had after that stretch of 3 years required nothing but a cleaning! (Of course it's still bad to not brush consistently because the plaque turns to tartar along the gums which causes them to recede)

[waboremo]

Similar situation, he was surprised by how white they were too. I drink almost everything that isn't water through a straw and never swish it around. He said that's probably why the only reason he had to do any work was due to the very back edge of my teeth where even when drinking through a straw the liquid touches.

[crickey]

Tooth decay is inevitable unless ur eating meat with water as your diet.

[spacephysics]

Can confirm, did carnivore for 2 years and had very good teeth. Sill brushed twice a day but didn’t feel like I needed it.

Despite brushing twice a day and now only eating foods with some sugar, dentist agreed had better teeth on the meat and water diet.

[reverendjames]

I eat a varied diet and don't have tooth decay. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.