Viral post claims sipping coffee dissolves your teeth. We asked dentists to fact check
In a viral post on Twitter, which has more than 12 million views, a dentist claims that sipping coffee for hours can cause your teeth to dissolve. Photo: Unsplash/dailyO
Are you one of those people who cannot start your day without a cup of coffee? Or perhaps you are one of those elite groups of people who roam around with that Starbucks in your hand, slowly sipping from it?
Only coffee lovers can understand the importance of starting your day with coffee, but the debate about whether coffee is healthy or not never ends. From coffee staining your teeth to depriving you of sleep, we have heard it all. But this claim about what coffee does to you and your teeth is new.
What is it?
In a viral post on Twitter, which has more than 12 million views, a dentist claimed that sipping coffee for hours can cause 'our teeth to dissolve'.
The reason? According to the post, "If your mouth has a pH less than 5.5 for more than 30 minutes, your enamel begins to demineralise; which is a fancy word for dissolve."
While some people on Twitter are agreeing to the claim, others are not ready to accept it:
Here's the post:
New terrifying fact just dropped pic.twitter.com/Y7pWIS8dQf
— rosey🌹 (@thechosenberg) April 9, 2023
What experts say
DailyO spoke to a few dentists and here's what they had to say. Kavya Sharma, a dentist from Guwahati, explains that cavity is a multifactorial disease, and can be caused due to various reasons.
Dr Sharma explains that bacteria in our mouths feed on sugary and starchy foods and drinks.
- The bacteria convert these carbohydrates into acids.
- Then, dental plaque is formed by the combination of these bacteria, acid, food, and saliva, which adheres to the surface of your teeth.
- Neglecting proper brushing and flossing habits can result in the acids present in the plaque gradually eroding the enamel of our teeth, leading to the development of cavities.
What about coffee?
Dr Sharma also adds that if we like our coffee with caramel, cream or sugar, we are more likely to get cavities for obvious reasons.
Dr Pooja Agarwal, a dentist who works in Noida, further adds that getting cavities also depends on the frequency of having sweets (in this case, your favourite caramelised latte with extra whipped cream) also acts as a catalyst for cavities.
BUT
However, we need to also keep in mind -- even though sipping coffee for five hours can lead to cavities, there are other factors that lead to it too.
For instance, Dr Sharma explains, apart from consuming sugary foods, one can get cavities if there is a family history of tooth decay or exposure to radiation or maybe just hormones.
Bottomline: If you are sipping on that caramelly sweet coffee with extra whipped cream for over an hour, it is not great for your teeth.