Individuals who like to stay awake make Coffee and tea with their best friends. The cravings for the taste of Coffee or the perks of getting through a day, whatever be the reason for intake of Coffee. Keeping a happy smile is not possible with Coffee stained on your teeth. However, this article will help determine whether you can drink Coffee wearing your retainers.
What are retainers?
After getting rid of the braces, a person must wear a retainer to keep their teeth straight. A teeth retainer is known as a device that is custom-made for people to wear across the teeth. Keeping the teeth in their correct and new position after taking off the braces is helpful.
Wearing retainers is essential for keeping the straightness of teeth. They help in retaining your teeth. Habits like grinding and chewing put a force on your teeth and can change their position. There are mainly two types of retainers, and they are as follows,
- The retainers, which are fixed and stay in a person’s mouth
- The retainers are removable and can be taken out of the mouth.
The teeth are aligned perfectly when a person gets their braces and retainers off. A retainer keeps the position of the teeth so that it lasts; however, wearing a retainer pays off all the work you have put into wearing the braces and then getting them off.
Can you drink Coffee with retainers?
When a person gets their teeth treatment done and gets their retainers, it is recommended to steer clear of hot beverages. Ceramic metal retainers or traditional metal retainers can make Coffee drinks slightly complicated. Drinking tea, soda, Coffee, or red wine will stain the retainer. To come up with a solution, the orthodontist recommends that people stay clear from intake of Coffee, tea, or other liquids when the retainers are worn regularly.
However, there is still hope for those who drink caffeine daily. To continue with this, they must make certain efforts to keep having a daily coffee intake. When a person desires to drink Coffee, tea, red wine, or other liquids, they must go through a strict rule of cleaning their retainers to avoid any stains.
Once the braces are off, the person should try whitening their teeth professionally or doing it at home, with the whitening treatment kit, to avoid stains from drinking the Coffee. However, if you wish to drink your Coffee without any gaps, you should drink it through a straw; drinking any dark beverage through a straw is recommended to avoid any particlesm sticking to the teeth.
Pros and Cons of Drinking Coffee with Retainers:
You should go through the list below for some of the benefits and drawbacks of drinking coffee while wearing retainers in order to have a better understanding of it.
1. Benefits of Drinking Coffee with retainers
Traditional retainers or ceramic retainers can make Coffee drink complicated to drink. Drinking Coffee, tea, soda, red wine, or any dark beverage can cause stains on the teeth and retainers.
2. Risks of drinking Coffee with retainers
After getting a retainer, a person has to take special care while wearing them. A slight mistake like drinking too much dark beverage can harm the teeth by potential stains. Any drinks with dark polyphenols should be avoided while wearing a retainer. However, steps to prevent stain while having a coffee with a retainer on is provided and, when followed carefully and regularly, can lower the risk of stain.
Alternatives to drinking Coffee with retainers:
Luckily, there are several alternatives that don’t have the same impact. Although they might not taste exactly like your morning brew, they are still hot and enjoyable to drink. Some of them are written below:
1. Hot drinks that can be enjoyed with retainers
Hot drinks such as Coffee, tea, or red wine, may not contain much sugar but can be enjoyed while wearing a retainer by taking proper precautions of not staining it. This should be taken into control to avoid any cavities on the tooth or stains on retainers.
2. Cold drinks that can be enjoyed with retainers
Drinks like soda, iced tea (sweetened), certain types of cocktails, juices and some sports drinks can be taken in moderation to avoid cavities and retainer stains.
Tricks for reducing the impact of Coffee on retainers:
Stains of Coffee are the most common cause of stains. The impact of the stains due to Coffee can be seen over time with lots of intake of Coffee and not immediately. It becomes difficult to remove the stains once they have got their grip on the teeth. However, the best possible way to avoid any stains on teeth is to prevent them from happening. Here are some tricks to reduce the impact of Coffee on your retainers.
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Drink Coffee through a straw
The Coffee consumed could never harm your teeth if it does not touch them in the first place. People do not whoosh the Coffee in their mouth, but drinking from a cup, the Coffee will be washed all over the teeth, particularly the ones in the front, before even swallowing it. When a person uses a straw while having Coffee, it helps bypass the person’s teeth.
In case of cravings for Coffee, this is the feasible solution. However, you can use a metal straw that you can carry everywhere for hot beverages. To lower the darkness of the Coffee, a person can add a little more milk to the Coffee. A person can also drink iced Coffee and iced tea with the help of a conventional straw. When the polyphenols are not allowed to touch the teeth, there is no possibility of getting a dark or yellowed tooth which is common among coffee drinkers.
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Have water side by side
When you have a coffee ordered, order a glass of water alongside it. After enjoying your Coffee, you can rinse your mouth with water to wash away the leftovers of the beverage. However, the problem of staining the retainer is gone by doing the afterglow of the caffeine. Also, when you drink Coffee, the colour of the Coffee affects the possibility of how deep the stain could go in the teeth. Adding milk to the Coffee can lower the Coffee’s colour and protect the teeth against the acid staining present in your Coffee. Many believe that the higher the fat in milk, the more effect it will leave behind.
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Having Coffee with low tannins
The strong tannins present in Coffee, tea or wine, etc., are the main reason for staining the retainer and the teeth. The only option for reducing the tannins in Coffee but still having the taste of Coffee is by drinking kopi Luwak Coffee.
However, this Coffee may only be for some people’s taste, but the low tannins make it the best fit for Coffee while wearing retainers. Little to no tannins at all in the kopi Luwak. Coffee is the main reason it does not stain a person’s teeth, and the person is not required to brush them immediately after the intake of Coffee.
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Brush the teeth with a better toothbrush
Most people drink their Coffee regularly, so they can carry their toothbrushes to work. One of the methods to avoid stains on teeth is not to allow them to settle on the teeth. It would become a habit to brush their teeth after every intake of Coffee or rinse their mouth with plain milk or water.
After drinking, brush your teeth after an hour. Use a brush that has bristles that are stiff to get rid of the particles which are left on teeth. It will be soon that a person gets comfortable with this method and can make it a habit of brushing their teeth after every Coffee when done regularly for weeks. However, the best time to brush your teeth is to consult the respective orthodontist.
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Use of mouthwash
A mouthwash will help the person clean their teeth; for whatever reason, they cannot brush their teeth after Coffee.
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Have the teeth whitened professionally
Having the teeth professionally whitened is more effective than doing it on your own at home with the help of a kit. A professional orthodontist’s regular whitening of teeth can help the person maintain a sparkling white smile. If a person’s teeth are stained, they can get a professional whitening to prevent any further stains on the teeth.
Conclusion:
As mentioned, you can still drink Coffee while wearing a retainer. A person needs to be played their A game in cleaning the retainer and carry out the process daily to make a habit out of it. However, the cleaning rule is applied to people who have low tannins coffee or numerous coffee cups in a day. Coffee contains acid, which can cause tooth decay for people who wear retainers and drink Coffee daily. It is essential to keep the retainers clean by brushing them with cold water, a toothbrush, and colourless toothpaste.
FAQs
Q1) Can I drink Coffee with my metal retainer in?
Ans: It is not necessary not to drink Coffee while wearing a metal retainer. However, it depends entirely on the type of metal the retainer is made of. If the retainer is made of stainless steel, a person can have Coffee without worries. In the case of any other steel, a person has to confirm with the orthodontist first after taking a step.
Q2) Can you drink Coffee with ceramic braces?
Ans: Yes, you can still drink Coffee with clear/ceramic braces. The modern braces avoid getting stains, but there could be a slight discolouration in the clear braces. However, there are many ways to avoid this, one of them is, after having your Coffee, you can drink or swish water in your mouth to remove the leftovers of Coffee.
Q3) Can you drink Coffee with a plastic retainer?
Ans: A person should never drink Coffee while having the retainer still in their mouth. They should remove the retainer before having the Coffee. Once having it, brush your teeth, and the retainer should be put back on.
Q4) Can you drink sparkling water with Invisalign?
Ans: Drinking carbonated while wearing your Invisalign is okay once in a while. The sparkling water will not stain the Invisalign, but the carbonated water will still harm a person’s teeth. However, drinking regular water is the best option.
Q5) Are there alternatives to drinking Coffee with retainers?
Ans: There are some alternatives to drinking Coffee with still having the retainers on; one alternative is tea. However, go for green tea or peppermint tea. These teas do not contain any dark particles that have a chance of getting caught in between the teeth.
Also Read:
Does Decaf Coffee Dehydrate You?
