White wine caught red-handed
White wine has always been seen as the more teeth-friendly of wines, but new research by New York University (NYU) suggests that it too contributes to teeth staining.
Using cow teeth, which have similar surfaces to human teeth, the researchers examined colour intensities to evaluate staining levels. One set of teeth was soaked in white wine for an hour and another set in water, before being immersed in black tea. The teeth that had been soaked in wine had significantly darker stains.
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cariology and Comprehensive Care at NYU, Dr Mark Wolff, said: “Dipping teeth in white wine for an hour is similar to the effect of sipping the wine with dinner. The acids in wine create rough spots and grooves that enable chemicals in other beverages that cause staining, such as coffee and tea, to penetrate deeper into the tooth.”
However, red wine remains the king of teeth staining: the experiment, when repeated with red wine, proved that red wine stains are significantly darker than those of white wine. This is due to the presence of the pigmented substance chromogen.
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