White wine is hard on tooth enamel

Drinking with food helps mitigate the effect

By Culinate staff

October 22, 2009

The acidic level of white wine can damage tooth enamel, according to a new study reported by the BBC:

It is not the wine’s vintage, origin, or alcohol that are key, but its pH and duration of contact with the teeth.

The researchers who authored the study suggest that eating food as you drink — they mention eating cheese in particular — may help mitigate the effects of the wine, which erodes calcium:

The tradition of enjoying different cheeses for dessert, or in combination with drinking wine, might have a beneficial effect on preventing dental erosion, since cheeses contain calcium in a high concentration.

A British dentist offers more advice:

“If you’re going to have a glass of wine, do so with your meal and leave a break of at least 30 minutes afterwards before you brush your teeth and go to bed . . . leaving time before brushing teeth gives the enamel a chance to recover from the acid attack and makes it less susceptible to being brushed away.”