A Little Known Way to Keep Gums Healthy: Reviews by a Family Dentist

As a local family dentist, we look for tips that our patients can use to stay in good oral health.  A recent study was published by Raul Garcia, D.M.D, out of Boston University.  The study found evidence that drinking coffee is good for your gums and teeth.  Coffee drinkers rejoice – you now have a health reason for indulging in your daily dose of caffeine. The study spanned three decades with researchers observing one thousand men.  The goal was to find out if coffee had any impacts on oral health.  Interestingly, the men that drank one or more cups of coffee a day had fewer teeth with bone loss than those who did not.  Bone loss is a common sign of gum disease that led researchers to conclude that drinking coffee was keeping gums healthier overall.  They also looked to see if excessive coffee drinking had any negative side effects to oral health and concluded that it did not. As a family dentist, it is interesting to read these results and to consider how the information can be applied.  The reason that coffee is beneficial to teeth and gums is that it contains caffeine.  This particular study only evaluated the impact of coffee, but the same may be true when drinking caffeinated tea.  Caffeine is an anti-inflammatory so those that drink coffee are simultaneously preventing and decreasing swelling inside of their mouth.  This is a natural benefit to having a daily cup of java.  We recommend drinking caffeinated green tea since it is less likely to stain teeth and to drink it raw, prevents additional sugar from being deposited onto the teeth.  Additional studies should likely be performed that include drinking tea and women in order to find out if there are any differences.  In the meantime, logic agrees with the study in why drinking coffee is good for you. The key with anything is to do it in moderation.  Red wine is good for your heart, but drinking too much can harm your liver.  Drinking a cup of coffee is good for your gums but drinking too much can make you dehydrated.  Keeping a well-balanced diet is important for getting the health benefits without the consequences.  As a family dentist, we do want to point out that drinking any amount of coffee puts your teeth at risk for becoming stained or yellowed.  Fortunately, we do offer an easy teeth whitening treatment that can reduce the damage but it is something to keep in mind.  Additionally, it is better if you take your coffee black in order to keep sugar off of the teeth. Combining coffee drinking with an existing oral hygiene routine is a good idea.  Make sure that you brush and floss throughout the day and have your teeth cleaned at our family dentist office at least twice a year.  These steps combined are a good defense against cavities and gum disease.  Doing only one won’t be enough to stay healthy.

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