Good Morning!

Over the weekend, I got an email asking me about my teeth and it struck me as funny as first, then I did some checking to find answers. I have great teeth and as crazy as it sounds, the one body part I do not want to change is my big smile. Over the years I have spent a fortune on my mouth. As a kid, I had braces and all the regular dental check-ups. (Back when everyone had dental insurance).

In my career my teeth were really important because I had to meet many clients face to face. When I first started drinking wine I never thought about staining my teeth by drinking wine. But about 15 years ago I was one of those people who had my teeth whitened and when I would go to the dentist he would ask if I drank a lot of coffee. I have never drank coffee in my life, except once a year with Bailey’s at Christmas time.

So I ask him a million questions and we figured out that I had great dental hygiene and we started to figure out the red wine and green tea might be working against my bright smile. I ask about how often I could use the Crest strips, should I get the ZOOM whitening process again, I would do about anything but I will not give up wine. I also ask why my teeth looked whiter in the morning and he said that the teeth are dehydrated in the morning but once you start hydrating throughout the day, the color could appear less white.

Here are some ideas to keep your teeth white….( I have only tried 2 of these ideas or tips)

1. Drink water after each glass of wine to kinda rinse, I do this when tasting reds.

2. Use daily whitestrips, I have used white strips but it bothers my gums.

3. Eat cheese while drinking red wine.

4. Drink wine through a straw.

5. Drink white wine after red and the white will remove the red particles.

6. Wipe your teeth with a napkin after you drink the red wine.

7. Put a small amount of Vaseline on your teeth before you start drinking.

I thought a few of these ideas might be a good, some sound weird but it’s your teeth so if you have another option that you try and use, let me know.

I know my teeth are porous and I brush them more than most people brush their teeth, a habit I started back at age 11 while wearing braces, but it seems if I rinse, drink and repeat I can keep my teeth looking pretty good. The one wine that really coats my teeth is Petite Syrah, the inky, dark, density of these amazing grapes really grabs on to my mouth…..I guess I could drink more lighter reds like Pinot Noir’s and Beaujolais, but I want to try all wines of the world.

I think smiling and laughing is the best medicine in the world and the next best medicine is wine. Have an awesome week!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi