White Wine Wears Away at Teeth

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By Katherine Tweed

There are various health benefits to drinking wine, but protecting your teeth is not one of them. White wine erodes enamel more than red wine, according to a recent study published in "Nutrition Research."

Acidic foods and beverages, such as orange juice, have long been known to weaken enamel. The same is true for white wine, whether it’s two-buck Chuck or a chardonnay. Worn away enamel makes teeth more sensitive to hot, cold and sweet sensations.

Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany soaked adult teeth in four varietals of white or red wine for a day. The teeth bathed in white wine lost more calcium and phosphorus than the teeth immersed in red wine. Riesling, which had the lowest pH of the eight wines, had the most significant impact.

If you care about your teeth, it doesn't mean you have to trade your sauvignon blanc in for merlot. All wine is acidic, says Mark S. Wolff, DDS, PhD, a professor and chair of the department of cardiology and comprehensive care at New York University’s College of Dentistry. “Everything in moderation,” he says. In fact, a red wine from Valencia with a pH only slightly higher than the Riesling caused the second highest level of calcium loss in the study.

If you’re worried about your glass of pinot grigio, there are some ways you can protect your teeth. “The tradition of enjoying different cheeses for dessert or in combination with drinking wine might have a beneficial effect on preventing dental erosion because cheese contains calcium in a high concentration,” said the researchers. The calcium from the cheese can interact with your saliva, helping it to neutralize the acidity.

But saliva naturally has calcium and minerals to balance out acidity, Wolff says. Cheese may give your saliva an extra boost, but saliva by itself can go a very long way in protecting teeth.

While pairing calcium and food with white wine can help your teeth, other seemingly helpful habits may actually hurt. Brushing directly after a few glasses of white wine can exacerbate the problem, because the enamel does not have enough time to recover from the acid. You should wait at least a half-hour, experts say, and closer to an hour if possible.