Several years ago, we wrote a somewhat inflammatory article on why we don’t drink kombucha as a habit.
Fundamentally, the post addressed the potential amount of fluoride in tea and, therefore, kombucha. You can read the article at the link above in case you missed it. In publishing the article, we learned an incredible amount about how we want to blog—and specifically how we want to eliminate any bias or slant in our articles.
Today we want to explain what we’ve learned about kombucha and oral wellness so that you can better understand why we don’t drink kombucha as a habit. We’ll also divulge how to drink kombucha and NOT destroy your teeth!
What We Learned
What we regret about our previous article is that we attacked kombucha on a whole. One blog commenter even said, “We slaughtered a sacred cow by attacking kombucha.”
We like to write about solutions—not problems.
There is more than enough media attention on the problems of the world. We choose to be among the sources of information that say: “Yea, the problems exist… And let’s turn our creative attention toward the possible solutions!”
We contradicted this desire to be solution-oriented when writing the previous kombucha article. For this, we apologize to you. We are deeply sorry that we didn’t give any tangible solutions on how to drink kombucha and not destroy your oral health.
But we have come away from the experience with a very firm commitment to keeping our focus on solutions—what we call the ‘forward side of the energy circle’.
It is in this spirit that we follow-up on the subject of kombucha.
A quick disclosure for those of you who wanted to stone us for slaughtering kombucha in our last article: We do believe that kombucha can play a helpful role in a healthy diet and provides us with lots of healthy microbes for our gut micro biome. The game, as you’ll see from this article, is getting the booch to our bellies without compromising our enamel.
Now we are going to bring up ‘an issue’ with kombucha once again. But we do so in order to help you navigate to greater oral health. And, most importantly, this time, we promise to provide a reliable solution to the issue! 🙂
The Problem With Kombucha
I was recently talking with a dentist friend of ours.
He shared with me how he can look into a person’s mouth and tell me whether or not they drink kombucha. I was surprised by such a bold statement, so I asked how he could possibly tell. He replied, “Kombucha destroys the tooth enamel just as quickly as soda.”
The generally agreed upon theory in dentistry on why teeth decay is called the acid dissolution theory. The argument goes something like this:
Thug bugs on the teeth consume sugars (carbs) in the mouth. Their waste is acidic. The acidity of their waste in such close contact with our teeth dissolves the tooth structure, which is mainly made up of calcium and phosphorus in a crystalline structure called hydroxyapatite.. This dissolution of the tooth by acids causes cavities to form.
As a quick sidenote, for a better understanding of the crystal structure of our teeth and what we can to to support remineralization, check out this article, “Putting together the pieces to reverse tooth decay and remineralize cavities”.
While we know there is much more to the overall story of why and how cavities form, let’s dive into this theory to see how acidic drinks negatively impact our oral health.
It’s all about acidity
The primary issue with kombucha is its pH (relative acidity). According to the website kombuchakamp, a ‘good’ kombucha should have a pH of between 2.5-3.2. Incidentally, the low pH of kombucha is necessary to maintain healthy microbial activity in this live food.
Although we may get some hate mail for comparing kombucha and conventional sodas like Coke and Pepsi, we do want you to see the similar pH of all these drinks.
We created the chart at the beginning of this article to show you just how acidic kombucha really is.
Mike Adams of Natural News published a video that shows how soda dissolves tooth enamel. The video actually shows microscopic imagery of the process. He states that it’s the phosphoric acid that causes the damage. While the video is a bit dramatic, it does show how acids dissolve enamel.
And it makes sense if you think about it.
Teeth are made up of minerals like calcium and phosphorus, among others. These minerals are freed from the matrix of the tooth when exposed to acids, regardless of our judgment on whether we think the drink is good for us or not.
So, that’s the bad news. Now, here’s the solution!
How to drink kombucha for the health benefits without destroying your teeth…
The issue with drinking anything acidic is drinking too much of it, too often.
Sipping kombucha throughout the day will cause way more damage than drinking a glass of it with one meal.
So, what does that mean?
1. If you are going to drink kombucha (or orange juice, soda, or any other acidic drink), drink it in one sitting rather than sipping on it throughout the day.
2. To help minimize the damage to your teeth, take a mouthful of pure water (room temp is best) after finishing the kombucha. Swish it around the mouth for several seconds to neutralize the acidic environment in the mouth and on the teeth. In this case, you are still gaining the benefit of the probiotics in kombucha while quickly neutralizing the acidic environment.
If you want to take additional precaution, you could put a little baking soda into the swish water to further neutralize the acidic environment.
To increase the remineralization effort, you could put a drop of our HealThy Mouth Blend and/or our Shine Remineralizing Tooth Whitening Powder into some swish water. Our blend significantly increases saliva production, which is fundamental for remineralizing the teeth. Shine contains ingredients that are specifically geared toward supporting tooth remineralization. You can click here to learn more about OraWellness Shine and how it works.
An important note: While some of us may be tempted to brush after drinking kombucha to help the neutralization process, brushing your teeth after consuming something acidic can increase the loss of enamel!
Think about it. If the outer layer of enamel is weakened by exposure to acid, scrubbing that weakened surface will only liberate more minerals from the tooth surface.
So, swish immediately but wait at least 30 minutes to brush after drinking something acidic (like kombucha) to allow the saliva to remineralize and stabilize the enamel first.
Takeaway strategy: While kombucha can provide benefits to your gut health, be sure to drink it in one sitting and swish the mouth with water after finishing your beverage.
You’ll enjoy the advantages of kombucha without sacrificing your oral health in the process!
Also, if you’re ready to take your oral health to the next level and gain a complete understanding of how to stop tooth decay and reverse cavities, feel free to download our FREE eBook, “How to Remineralize Your Teeth”.
Now it’s your turn!
Does knowing this information help you feel more empowered to navigate to greater oral health? Do you enjoy drinking kombucha? How do you do it and not risk compromising your precious smile? Please share your opinions and feedback in the comments below!
Helpful, Related Resources
How to Remineralize Your Teeth [free eBook]
How to Stop Tooth Decay and Remineralize Your Teeth [article]
How to Reverse Tooth Decay with Diet [article]
What Foods Undermine Our Oral Health And Why [article]
What To Eat To Support Greater Oral Health [article]
Why Do Teeth Decay (And How Do We Stop It) [article]
Why We Don’t Drink Kombucha [article]
4 Reasons Why Brushing Is So Important [article]
References:
pH table of various sodas found here
PH of kombucha found here
I do drink some kombucha and always put 2 or 3 ice cubes in the cooler with it. I also drink it with a straw only. Does that help? I have very good looking teeth and take very good care if them.
Aloha Robin,
Great question!
We think that drinking Kombucha through a straw might help somewhat.
The issue with drinking anything acidic is drinking too much of it, too often. Sipping kombucha throughout the day will cause way more damage than drinking a glass of it with one meal.
So, what does that mean?
1. If you are going to drink kombucha (or orange juice, soda, or any other acidic drink), drink it in one sitting rather than sipping on it throughout the day.
2. To help minimize the damage to your teeth, take a mouthful of pure water (room temp is best) after finishing the kombucha. Swish it around the mouth for several seconds to neutralize the acidic environment in the mouth and on the teeth. In this case, you are still gaining the benefit of the probiotics in kombucha while quickly neutralizing the acidic environment.
If you want to take additional precaution, you could put a little baking soda into the swish water to further neutralize the acidic environment.
We’re thrilled to hear that you have good looking teeth and take very good care of them. In case you find it helpful, feel free to check our free eBook with lots whole-body and in-the-mouth tips for remineralization: How to Stop Tooth Decay and Remineralize Your Teeth
I hope that helps!
Aloha! 🙂
You have shared a really good article, Thanks for this.
I am an avid kombucha drinker so I really appreciate your article and it will definitely have an impact on the way we consume it in the future as this is the first time I have heard of the damaging effects it can have on teeth. Thank you so much!
I’m wondering if water kefir drinks like Kevita fall into the same category?
Aloha Susan,
Good question! 🙂
I’ve never personally tried a KeVita beverage. However, based on the ingredients lists that they share online, it seems like most of their water kefir / kombucha beverages contain acidic ingredients such as lactic acid, apple cider vinegar, and lemon extract. So, yes, most KeVita water kefir beverages would generally fall into the same category as kombucha when it comes to acidity levels.
I hope that helps! Aloha!
Thank you so much for this invaluable information and for providing simple, effective SOLUTIONS!
My question is about citric acid and also malic acid, specifically in powdered electrolyte mixes. I’d asked my favorite electrolyte company about this and got the following response: “The pH of citric acid and malic acid is between 4-6, the pH of malate salts (like potassium malate) is about 5.6. Within dentistry circles, it is generally accepted that a pH of 4 or above is benign to dental enamel.”
What are your thoughts? Is it a bad idea to sip it all day, but perhaps OK to drink in one sitting and then swish with water afterwards?
Aloha Kim,
Based on our research, tooth enamel can erode if the acidity levels in the mouth fall to 5.5 pH or lower. So, if one were to drink a beverage with a pH level ≤ 5.5, we would definitely suggest drinking it in one sitting and then swishing with water afterwards (instead of sipping it periodically throughout the day).
It’s generally a good habit to swish with clean water after eating or drinking anything. 🙂
Wouldn’t it be even better to put a little baking soda in the water and swich?
Aloha K S,
Good question!
Swishing with clean water + a pinch of baking soda (or a couple of drops of HealThy Mouth Blend) after eating or drinking is a great way to help wash away any remaining acids from foods and/or drinks. Baking soda helps to neutralize acidic environments, so swishing with water + baking soda could be even more effective than just swishing with water alone.
Aloha! 🙂
I appreciate this article as well as your many others! What about wine in the evening? Including after dinner? Should we be sure to drink water afterwards and wait 30m before brushing? Thank you!
Aloha Mary,
Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Swishing with water after drinking wine can help to help reduce the acidity on your teeth as well as tooth stains that can come from wine.
In general, we prefer to wait 20-30 minutes after eating or drinking anything before we brush our teeth (including after dinner).
I hope that helps! Aloha! 🙂
That was so helpful! So here’s my theory. Let’s say I’ve decided that about 16 oz of kombucha is about right for me. But I can’t drink that up straight away. SO – I drink 8oz with breakfast, rinse appropriately, and then drink the other 8 oz at lunch, followed by the same rinsing. Does that seem like a good way to do it?
Aloha Heather,
Thank you for your comment. 🙂
We definitely recommend rinsing one’s mouth with plain water after drinking kombucha (or any acidic drink).
Also, using a straw would help to reduce the amount of contact the kombucha makes with one’s teeth.
And we support you deciding how much kombucha is right for you. 🙂 Paying attention to how your body feels after drinking or eating anything is one great way to discern whether or not a given drink or food is right for you.
Aloha!
Hi…I just wanted to add one more step you can take to minimize the contact of acidic beverages on the teeth…use a straw instead of allowing the beverage to coat all of your teeth. A straw is what I use to drink apple cider vinegar and my green smoothies. Those are two other very acidic beverages that can attack the enamel on your teeth.
I drank kombucha for about 2 years even at night without thinking about the acidity level damaging my teeth. BIG MISTAKE! It literally are away my enamal and I even had to get fillings at the top of my always-before beautiful incisors! It will destroy your teeth if you drink a lot if it. Now I’m remineralizing using coconut oil pulling with MCHA added and it seems to be working well. Thanks for being a source for the Micro Hydroxyapatite.
Dear Will and Susan, I was told by our dentist that my 10 yo daughter has enamel hypoplasia. He concluded that she must have had a high fever around age five, at the time her back molars were formed. I have zero recollection of such a fever. The other dentist in the office who was the one who cleaned my daughter’s teeth said she thought it was just cavities, though he, I guess, eventually convinced her as well to the diagnosis. Now, I read this piece about kombucha and it’s got me thinking that about 6 mos. ago I started letting my daughter drink at least one kombucha per day, which she often drinks off and on throughout the day. Could this be the culprit for what were previously treated as decent kid’s teeth by her dentists? Could damage happen that fast? I am beside myself with his diagnosis. If it is the kombucha, can I remineralize her teeth? If the dentist is correct and she has weak enamel on those teeth, can I still remineralize her teeth? I love kombucha, but sorry I really hope it’s that effervescent beverage that’s the bad guy here.
Aloha Carla,
We’re so sorry to hear about your 10-year-old daughter’s dental challenges. 🙁
We here at OraWellness aren’t medical or dental professionals, so we can’t treat, diagnose, advise, etc. Instead, what we can do is share information with you to help you become self-empowered on your journey.
We haven’t done any in-depth research on missing enamel/enamel hypoplasia, and from what we’ve read on enamel, it seems like our enamel is formed before our teeth erupt into the mouth, and it might not be possible to restore lost enamel. However, it seems to us that taking steps to help keep teeth remineralized might help to protect the remaining tooth structure.
Shine’s main focus is to support the teeth by helping them remineralize to keep them strong and cavity-free, and it can also help whiten teeth by gently polishing away surface stains from food and drinks. Here’s a link to how Shine supports remineralization.
Research suggests that both MCHA and xylitol (ingredients in Shine) travel ‘down’ the tubules and helps remineralize ‘subsurface demineralization’ in the dentinal layer of our teeth.
We recommend swishing with the solution of Shine and your daughter’s saliva for a period of time before spitting it out to bathe her teeth in the remineralizing solution. ‘Mouth Probiotics’ shares a powerful strategy that can help naturally remineralize her teeth. She can use the same technique to swish the Shine/saliva solution.
To prevent too much acidity from wearing away her enamel, she can drink acidic drinks (such as kombucha) through a straw to minimize the amount of contact they have with her teeth. Also, she can swish some clean water around her teeth each time she’s finished eating or drinking and avoid brushing her teeth just after meals because the acids from the foods/drinks she consumes will weaken the enamel. Brushing right after meals risks brushing away the enamel.
The best way to resolve oral health issues is through diet. I encourage you to sign up for our 5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth series to learn how to combine your family’s oral health care routine with diet to take a whole-body approach to oral healing. Here is a link to the 5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth series.
I hope that helps!
Great article, thanks!
Early in the comments on this article, Will, you say that you guess lemon water to be acidic, but then a few comments later, you say lemon water is alkalizing to the body.
How is it that something acidic would alkaline the body?
Thanks!!
Hi Ted,
Great question! Thanks for asking so we could clarify.
So, it’s strange to ponder, but lemon water is both. If you test lemon water, you’ll find that it has an acidic pH. However, functionally, the impact of lemon water in the body helps to alkalinize the body. I don’t understand the biochemistry behind this, but it’s recognized by many in the wellness field that drinking lemon water (as well as many other acidic natural foods/drinks like apple cider vinegar, kefir, kombucha, and fermented veggies) helps to bring a more alkaline state for the body.
I hope that helps to clarify! Thanks again for such a great question!
What happens to your body when you drink lemon water is that it starts out acidic in your mouth, but as it travels to you stomach, it turns alkaline. Then as it enters the blood, it alkalizes the blood which is carried throughout the body and delivers the anti-inflammatory results to every part of the body. It will actually bring inflammation levels down all over so you will feel better after you drink lemon water.
Just want to say – thanks for this article. Disregard the naysayers; it is always important to raise awareness of the potential for acidic drinks (like kombucha) to destroy teeth. Kombucha may be beneficial for the gut, but it is certainly not beneficial for the teeth, and just because it’s good for probiotic health doesn’t mean it’s good for any other thing like oral health.
I used to drink kombucha almost on the daily – I took up the habit in 2016, after reading so many articles on its benefits. Prior to then, I had great oral health (not a single cavity for years). Then, near the end of 2016 when I went to my dental checkup, I was shocked to find I had two new cavities. So I’ve pretty much stopped drinking kombucha since. I only drink it once in a blue moon nowadays, and I make sure to drink it through a straw and swish with water afterwards.
I’m assuming that you’re suggesting to swish with water, HealThy Mouth, baking soda, and spit out the swish? Asking because you also suggest bathing the teeth with saliva by swishing and then swallowing the saliva. And in oil pulling, we must spit it out, so want to be sure I’m doing the right thing!
Aloha Diane,
Thanks for asking such helpful questions. I’m sure others have had the same question.
If you are swishing with just water (or saliva), it’s of course fine to swallow after. However, if using the HealThy Mouth Blend or soda, yeah, I encourage to spit those out. I hear you on the confusion between swishing with saliva, water, or oil and the differences in what to do with each! Thanks for helping us clarify this important point.
What about fermented milk drinks, yogurts and cheeses made from fermenting milk kefir grains in milks?
Does the calcium in the milk neutralize the acidity of the fermentation?
Thanks!
Aloha!
Really great question! Yes, we believe that despite the acidity in kefir and other fermented dairy products, the ample calcium and phosphorus would mitigate the risks. That said, I would still rinse the mouth with room temp water after enjoying a kefir anyway.
I hope that helps!
I understand that cow’s milk is VERY ACIDIC in you mouth as well as in your whole system!
Thanks for this article (and all the others)!
Do you spit or swallow after swishing the water (especially if it has baking soda)? Thx!
Aloha Ana,
Thank you for bringing your questions to this discussion.
Yeah, we swallow the swish water after something acidic. The water just helps to accomplish what is called ‘oral clearance’ which is the natural function of our mouths to get whatever we last ate/drank out of the mouth. Just pay attention to how busy your tongue is after a meal and you’ll see the unconscious activity of oral clearance in action! 🙂
I see no reason to not swallow water with a bit of baking soda in it but it’s really your call there.
I began researching about the influence Kombucha may have on gum disease after singling it out as something that caused my breath to worsen. I have gum disease, and I have learned to tell which substances exacerbate it. I will say the Kombucha I am drinking is home-brewed, and home-brewed for about 10 days too long, and it is quite acidic and vinegary. Does anyone have anything else to share on the influence of Kombucha on their oral health?
I realize I’m a little late to the party here, but I’m wondering if you’ve heard of and/or read the book “Cure Tooth Decay” by Ramiel Nagel? What I understood after reading it is that your overall diet is key to oral health – that certain things encourage and add minerals to your teeth while others leach minerals from them (there’s more to it, but that’s the overall gist). So the idea is that if you have a good diet with strong teeth, it doesn’t matter what happens on the surface of your teeth.
As with anything we read, I don’t know how accurate the information presented by Mr. Nagel is. In my journey of trying to learn the truth about good health, It just made sense to me. I’d be interested to know if your perspective on acidic drinks would be altered in any way after reading Mr. Nagel’s book.
Thanks for the article and keep up the good work!
Aloha Heather,
Thank you for stopping by to ask us if we were aware of Ramiel’s book. Yes, we are professional friends and interviewed him a number of years ago. His research is very solid.
I would like to clarify that although diet plays a fundamental role in stopping and reversing tooth decay, from my perspective, your statement ‘if you have a good diet with strong teeth, it doesn’t matter what happens on the surface of your teeth’ is a bit overstated. From our perspective, the optimal approach to oral health is from both a ‘whole body’ approach (applying work like Ramiel’s research of Dr Weston Price, Melvin Page, etc) AND an ‘in the mouth’ approach using conscious oral hygiene. In this way, we address the imbalance from a ‘global’ as well as ‘local’ angle.
So, to directly answer your question, we wrote this article years after we had read Ramiel’s book.
Again, we really appreciate you posting here to make sure that we were aware of his excellent work.
As always, holler any time with questions, we’re here to help.
Great blogs and articles throughout your site. I love your balanced, research oriented approach. I have a keen interest in this oral health for personal reasons and have been scouring conventional and alternative medicine sites. Yours is by far the most balanced. I like the way you approach each topic with a litany of research/critical thinking oriented questions. It is an aid to us all, especially those who are in need of information that is as thoroughly researched and nonbiased as possible. Nice work!
Thanks for stopping by to offer your kind words of support here Jeff!
Really, hearing from folks like you helps us maintain our momentum to do the work we do.
Thank you and Aloha!
Tempest in a teapot……For over 15 years I have been drinking 1-2 pints of kombucha daily AND purified water with lemon. My teeth are in excellent condition and I am 62 years old.
It is more important to practice good dental hygiene, brushing and flossing after every meal. Whats the big deal about creating negative buzz about acidic beverages? Just swish a mouthful of water, or brush your teeth – problem solved!
Spreading fear based thinking – cannot eat this – cannot drink that falls in the category of “Nutrition Nazi”. The French have completely different attitude twoards food and beverage – they do not FEAR their food and do not obsess “will this give me cancer” – the French eat lots of whole fat cheese, butter, drink wine and have much better health than Americans….enjoying your food and eating WiTHOUT FEAR that what you consume will rot your teeth or kill you – THAT is the key to wellness.
Articles like this may convince people it is healthier to drink soda pop than kombucha.
There is a lot of nonsense online about kombucha – now that it has gone mainstream and in every supermarket in America and movie stars promote drinking it – there are companies selling “Kombucha Brewing Kits” for $35 !!!!!!!! Gee whiz, you can get a scobie from a bottle of GT’s Synergy unflavored kombucha in the blue label – there are always a baby scobie at the very bottom of the bottle. Pour the entire 16 oz into a recycled gallon apple juice jug – add two cups of organic dark brown sugar – sucanat and in 4–6 weeks you have a gallon of kombucha that cost pennies to make. Kombucha ferments very fast in hot summer weather – when it is 90 degrees and hotter it will ferment in a week. The baby scobie at the bottom of the GT’s Synergy brand blue label unflavored kombucha is the equivalent of a 12 year old girl who just started puberty….within 2 weeks that itty bitty scobie will grow to cover the entire circumfrence of the glass apple juice gallon job….fuggedabout paying large amounts of money for scobies online – this is silly!
Drink your kombucha and don’t obsess about your teeth rotting! Just swish some water in your mouth or brush your darn teeth! Brushing and flossing, not eating processed food, avoiding sugar THIS and good dental hygiene, particularly getting your teeth cleaned every six months is the key to good dental hygiene. I am 62 and every time a dentist does an exam they cannot believe my teeth are in such good shape – i have been told I have the teeth of someone in their mid-thirties. It is because since the age of 18 I ALWAYS got my teeth cleaned every six months, brushing and flossing and no processed food since 1968!
Some people inheirit “soft” teeth and some folks are lucky and inheirit “strong” teeth. My mother’s entire mouth has fillings, she is in her early 80’s and has lots of crowns, partials and bridges. She inheritied “soft” teeth plus ate junk food her entire adult life. My dad and aunt – fraternal side of family inheirited “strong” teeth – they ate junk food all their life and had lots of fillings, dentures – but I inheirited “strong” teeth but practiced whole foods nutrition and excellent oral hygeine.
I think you can inheirit bad DNA with family history of poor health but completely turn that around by your lifestyle choices and practices. All my relatives on both side of the family have heart disease, strokes, hypertension – so I have the Heart Attack gene, but my cholesterol and blood pressure are excellent because I practiced organic whole foods diet, no smoking and very little alcohol. I know lots of people who have fatalistic attitude that “all my relatives die young” and use that as an excuse to eat junk food and no exercise. This is self destructive and lacks common sense. I don’t care how bad your DNA genetics are – so much can be turned around by good nutrition. Even in your 80s you can build back muscle mass with exercise and work on improving blood glucose levels and high blood pressure through better lifestyle habits.
Great article – simple and complete – thanks!
What about using a straw?
Hi 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts on this. Would following an acidic drink with raw milk or a bowl of plain yoghurt neutralise just as well (or is the yoghurt too acidic as it’s fermented, too)?
Thanks 🙂
Aloha Rebecca,
Great question! Thanks for asking it here!
Given your thinking here, what I would do is swish with plain water first to remove acids from kombucha, then have some milk or yogurt. That way, you remove the acids then support surface remineralization of enamel with the dairy product. Incidentally, you are right on the mark with your thinking. I recall reading a study last year about testing for surface remineralization and the best results were from milk! 🙂
Thank you for stopping by!
meant to ask: how about swishing with xylitol afterwards, that is supposed to be good for mouth bacteria, but how about acidity too?
And swishing with your blend – does that really have to be diluted or could we put a drop on our tongue?
Aloha Mary,
Thanks for stopping by to ask such great questions.
Swishing with xylitol is an excellent idea as xylitol will help to mitigate the stress from acidic kombucha. Xylitol has also shown to help with remineralization. You can definitely swish with our Healthy Mouth Blend too. From time to time, I have chosen to ‘just’ put a drop on my tongue and swish it with saliva too! 🙂
We hope that helps.
wondering about ‘swishing’ with coconut oil – is that acidic to the teeth too?
Aloha Mary,
Oil pulling (swishing with oil) with coconut oil is not acidic on the mouth.
Thanks for asking!
Could you please elaborate as to why coconut oil is not acidic in the mouth? I’ve read that it’s like 50% lauric acid, which somewhat concerned and surprised me. Are fatty acids just different somehow?
Really great question. While I’m no chemist, yes, there’s a difference between something that is a fatty acid (or an amino acid for that matter) and something that is acidic on the pH scale.
I hope that helps!
Thanks Will! That makes sense–I hadn’t thought about amino acids, too.
I’m glad you highlighted kombucha and knocked its halo off for oral wellness, and it brought out a bigger discussion of other health drinks like lemon juice – lemons are one of the best things we can take, but clearly need to be taken the right way and you offered some help on that. Well played click bait in this case, kept it relevant…
I don’t get it. Why do we have to drink acidic drinks in one go?
Aloha Blake,
Acidic drinks cause enamel to DEmineralize from the teeth. By sipping acids all day long, we never give our mouths the opportunity to REmineralize the loss of enamel from the acidic drink.
Make sense?
ummm I wish I read this a long time ago. I’ve been drinking kombucha almost every day for years. My gums have receded and are now brown where there’s no enamel. They’re very sensitive! I’m a 27 year old female. Just got back from the dentist and he said I shouldn’t sip anything acidic. If I want to drink it, I should drink it in 3 min or less and then swish my mouth with water. I LOVVVE Kombucha – I buy the Synergy brand. I used to brew it as well. Ugh! He said I’ll lose my teeth by the time I’m 55 if I keep this up!
Personally, I think this article suffers from the same problem that your previous article on kombucha does – it is picking on kombucha because kombucha is currently trendy.
Nothing in the article is specific to kombucha, yet your headline is “How to drink kombucha and NOT destroy your teeth”. It could have been, for example, “How to drink acidic drinks and NOT destroy your teeth”.
In the web industry, this is called click-bait, using outrageous and inflammatory statements to attract people to your web site. The mea culpa at the start actually makes it worse, since it is hypocritical. Not very ethical at all and reduces the credibility of your site.
Thanks for offering your input here David. I agree. I’m guilty on this post for click bait. I did choose to ‘slaughter the sacred cow’ of kombucha on purpose mainly because I am concerned that folks in the real food movement think that kombucha can do no wrong. I wanted to bring to light the downside of the acidity of kombucha on tooth enamel.
I’m sorry you feel this reduces the credibility of our site. We work to offer the best information on this subject as we can.
I personally think you’re doing just fine, Will! But Kombuka is no sacred cow to me so I’m not hypersensitive about it.
Hehe, thanks Maggie. We appreciate you stopping by to let us know you appreciate our work.
Aloha!
I use both HealThyMouth (at night without rinsing…should I rinse?) and Tropical Traditions’ teeth cleanser (morning). Remembering that you mentioned testing pH after brushing, I checked immediately after brushing with TT this afternoon– and registered 8.0. I don’t recall your mentioning what high alkalinity of saliva does to the health of the mouth. That was just a “wonder how that will register on the pH chart” test. I had a 6.8 register on rising this morning. So maybe the HealThyMouth kept me in good shape while I slept! 🙂 I appreciate your helpful information and positive approach. Thanks!
Everyone needs more energy these days, which is why so many of us are reaching for coffee, tea, sugar, caffeinated sodas, and “energy drinks”. And oftentimes your oral care takes hit by consuming such liquids.
Kombucha is the original energy drink. This is not an artificial jolt of caffeine or sugar — but a natural energy booster. Because kombucha helps the body detoxify, there is less burden on your system, and as a result, you get more energy. As stated above, kombucha is also rich in B vitamins, which gives the body energy. It helps me get through the day.
Aloha Jefferey,
Thanks for stopping by and offering your take here. I completely agree that if a person is going to be drinking an ‘energy drink’, kombucha is very high on the list!
I feel very happy to read stuff material about teeth.you content writing skill is nice.thank for sharing this post with us.
Hi Will, Thanks for your effort with your blog
I used Kombucha for several years, at first around 700mls a day, then after reading about certain dangers from consuming so much I reduced my consumption to around 150mls per day,eg 50mls with meals.
I laid off the Kombucha for a while and at the same time I noticed a rash developing on both feet,this rash has prevailed and spread over 10 months.
It appears to be food intolerences caused by “Leaky Gut Syndrome” which I believe is low levels of good gut bacteria. I don’t know what to deduct from this. I would of thought my gut bacteria would have been in fine form,appearently not!. I have intolerences to Gluten and Dairy. The rash is a right pain and is very tenacious. I think I am getting on top of it now.
Anyway I thought I would share my experience with your readers. I am not bagging Kombucha, I have recently put down a brew, the first in over a year.
I would love to know how one could test for various gut bacteria,so If you know how please let me know.
Regards
Murray
Aloha Murray,
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I think you are right on it regarding a rash and leaky gut. I believe that in the coming years, the awareness will continue to grow that intestinal permeability is a causal influence for so many of the myriad ways health breaks down over time.
There is lots of research going on regarding the study of the microbiome (the fact that as I write this, wordpress still thinks that the word microbiome is a misspelling tells me plenty! 🙂 While I agree with you that knowing what species of bacteria are present and which ones are proliferating would be helpful, I believe we can approach the subject from another angle as well which is available now and seems to prove very powerful in healing the causal issue of gut dysbiosis. The company Cyrex Labs does various tests for many factors including the level of leaky gut one has, gluten sensitivity, as well as what foods a person is cross reacting to given their level of sensitivity to gluten.
So, whichever way we come at the situation, whether from identifying what organism are proliferating in the gut or what inputs (foods) are causing the inflammatory cascade, bottom line is to stop the constant insult on the immune system. You are correct that signs like rashes are the body’s way of yelling at us to get our attention that something’s out of balance. 🙂
I hope this helps you along your path!
Thank you and Aloha!
I make my own keffir from raw milk and when I drain the grains, you get a clear whey which can be separated from the more creamy yoghurt. Can anyone tell me if the lactic acid is within the clear whey or the creamy stuff? And if it’s in the clear whey, I could disguard that and only consume the creamy stuff. Since I assume lactic acid would also errode my teeth and I have a problem with grinding so have to be very careful. P.s. Is keffir the same as kumbucha?
Aloha Ellie,
Thank you for reaching out here. We happen to have lots of opinions on kefir making also! Our first youtube channel was all about how to make milk kefir at home! 🙂
Yes, the lactic acid is in the clearish, whey portion of the kefir. That said, we still encourage you to consume the whey as it has lots of beneficial components in it as well. We drink a kefir smoothie each morning, then follow it with a glass of water to rinse any acids off our teeth. By the way, kefir along with other lacto-fermented foods/drinks is high in B vitamins, so very good to help soothe stressed nerves which could result in grinding.
Incidentally, kefir and kombucha are different.
Thanks for asking! We hope this helps you along your path to greater oral health!
I think that the reason so many of us hate inflammatory articles is because they force us to think for ourselves and question what we believe is true! So, no need the apologize for the previous article on Kombucha – it did its job. Well done!
I can honestly say that after reading these two articles, I am definitely wiser as to what a beneficial consumption of Kombucha for me personally would be. For Pete’s sakes – this has been the point of these blogs all along. To take personal responsibility for our own health instead of leaving that to the Food industries or even, those who claim to be knowledgeable on health foods like Kombucha. That’s the beauty of articles like these – before one, I would’ve guzzled large quantities of the tangy brew without awareness of the danger to my teeth.
Sure, I now have considered alternatives like milk kefir as opposed to Kombucha, but let’s look at this for a moment. On the surface, milk kefir seems a safer bet than Kombucha, but let’s not forget that milk itself is invariably more prone to contamination from a mind boggling number of sources than tea leaves are to the absorption of fluoride. For the vast majority of individuals wanting to take responsibility for their health, “organic” is just too far out of reach to be practical or just too costly. It’s “six of the one and half a dozen of the other”. The best we as individuals can do, is to stay informed and use that knowledge as best we can while using what is available to us.
In all honesty, these articles have positively changed my perspective on Kombucha and it’s use. Being insufficiently informed, I could have damaged my health and then opted for the seemingly safer offerings of the mainstream Food industries instead, (which is what they want all along. “See, we said you would get sick drinking that stuff – try our product, it’s good for you because we care”).
Thanks once again Will, for these articles. They have achieved something positive I think. Great job!
From reading online, I think a piece of cheese or some milk (afterward) will neutralize an acidic drink. Store-bought yogurt without any live active cultures might work, though I’d prefer raw, grass-fed cheese! Anyway, I also saw mention of xylitol gum. What do you think?
Aloha Fran,
This makes sense that some food/drink with lots of calcium/phosphorus would help neutralize the acids. We prefer to simply swish with water. Regarding xylitol gum, we have mixed feelings about xylitol and plan to write a blog on it soon.
Thanks for posting! 🙂
Aloha,
I find it odd that in both posts that you are attacking Kombucha. In the first post you talked about the floride in tea. Why not just talk about tea? In this post you are talking about acidic beverages that demineralize the teeth. Again why pick on Kombucha? I realize that kombucha has a low ph, but it doesn’t contain added phosphoric acid. The video is way over the top, bathing teeth in pure phosphoric acid is not really a scientific demonstration of what would happen if you drink soda (btw I never drink soda), and has nothing to do with Kombucha. I like your product and appreciate the blog posts but maybe you could stick to facts and not hyperbole. I will however start rinsing my mouth after I drink kombucha.
Mahalo, David
Aloha David,
Thank you for the feedback. I agree that the video is rather overly dramatic and does state that it’s using straight phosphoric acid. In this case, we didn’t feel that we were picking on kombucha however. We were trying to put into perspective the relative risks of drinking anything acidic regularly, especially if we sip it through the day like so many do with soda and kombucha.
Really, what our articles have been about is to help balance the information on the net on kombucha. Frankly, there is a bit too much ‘kombucha is the greatest thing for our health’ praising going on for us and we wanted to bring light on sides of it which aren’t so health giving.
The good news is we regrounded our focus on the forward side, thus the helpful tip to swish after drinking anything acidic. I’m glad you found benefit from it. We’ll work on keeping it really clean and avoid hyperbole! 🙂
Mahalo!
Thank you so much for this follow-up article. I was rather sad when I read the initial article stating the dangers to tooth enamel from drinking kombucha. I appreciate your desire and willingness to investigate further AND come up with some solutions!
I’ve learned so much about taking care of my oral (and general) health from your website, and I can’t thank you enough for what you do.
Thank you for posting your kind comments here Megan! They really do help!
We appreciate them so much!
Aloha!
Thank you so much for this post!!!!!!!!!!! It explains everything! I have been trying to figure out what’s going on with my teeth for months. I eat great and all that stuff. I don’t drink soda ever and yet all of a sudden my teeth started to decay faster then I could count. I was downing Kombucha like mad for a long time. It must be the combination of pregnancy/nursing and kombucha! My friend made a comment that the place of my cavities was usual for a soda drinker and I could not figure out how that was possible. This answers everything. I wish this came two years ago 🙁
Aloha Elena (that sounds nice together! 🙂
Thank you for the kind words of support! We’re so glad that our efforts helped you put another piece of the puzzle into place for your health! That’s what inspires us to continue to do our research and share our perspective with you all!
Thank you and Aloha!
My issue with Kombucha is a different one. One cup of white sugar to 3litres of tea yuk!! The person who gave me my scobi says “dont worry the mushroom eats all the sugar. Well I purchase a themometer thingee from the beer home brewing shop which tests sugar and alcohol content. The difference in the sugar reading after brewing the Kombucha is very minimally lower. What do you think/know about this.
I would really love to know any information about this/
Aloha Nancy!
Thanks for sharing! We agree that kombucha is still pretty sugar laden. While some of the sugar is broken down, it’s still an acidic, sugary drink that will erode oral health if sipped through the day as sure as drinking a soda will.
Drinking with a straw pretty much by passes the teeth. Valid?
I think this is helpful for sure. I encourage you to really pay attention when drinking with a straw. Maybe I’m different, but I still feel the fluid wash over my molars. Using a straw definitely will lower the repetitive washing over the front teeth however. How about you? Are you able to avoid your teeth completely when using a straw?
What about drinking it through a straw? My husband gets terrible coffee stains on his teeth and has started drinking it through a straw (he uses a stainless steel straw) and that has stopped the staining. Kind of weird for coffee but not so weird for a cold drink 🙂
I agree that using a straw will help (especially if you are looking to lower staining on the front teeth! :)). However, when I use a straw, I still feel the fluid wash over my molars. Give it a try and really pay attention. If you figure out how to drink through a straw without the fluid touching your teeth at all, come back here and tell us how you did it! 🙂 In fact, shoot a video explaining it and we’ll post it to share!
I came across an article which said that chewing “Horsetail Root” helps significantly to remineralize the teeth. Also horsetail root is a common wild plant like nettles, which grow in abundance, and overgrows in open space. How ironic that this wild plant that people with land have a problem getting rid of is not used for medicianl purposes.
Aloha Mark,
Yes, this is so true with so many medicinal plants that our global culture calls weeds. I believe horsetail is high in silica which probably has an influence on other minerals in the body. If you handle the plant, it makes sense as the plant is very strong and fibrous.
would using a glass straw help? http://www.glassdharma.com/
I think it could help but not completely solve the situation. See other posts about straws in this article.
Thanks for posting! 🙂
What are the implications of drinking Kombucha just before or during a meal for oral health? Do the enzymes created from chewing have a positive or negative impact on teeth when combined with the acidity in the kombucha?
It makes sense to us to drink a naturally fermented beverage with a meal. If you look across all cultures, in our heritage, we have some form of fermented food or drink that we’re to consume in small portion with a meal. This makes perfect sense to us as the natural activity of the fermented (aka super charged raw) foods is going to supply the body some of the enzymes needed for digestion.
According to Dr Edward Howell, once we empty our ‘enzyme bank’, we’re done walking the planet. So, traditional cultures would consume a bit of fermented food with a meal to ‘supplement’ and help the body not need to draw so heavily on the enzyme bank in order to digest and assimilate the nutrition. So, if one is going to drink kombucha, it makes a lot of sense to us to drink it with a meal.
Aloha!
I find this quite interesting since I just had my 1st taste of Kombucha this past weekend. I will definitely put this info to use. Having had dental issues all of my life, I am doing whatever I can now to protect the integrity of what teeth I have left in my mouth. I’m also guessing you would have the same issues drinking water kefir. In my endeavor to stay healthy, I am attempting to neutralize the acidic state of my body so I no longer have to deal with the “normal” health issues most Americans have to live with. Thank you for posting this article and blessings to you! 🙂
Thank you for posting Matcine.
Yeah, water kefir is probably in the same boat as they are both made from similar fermentation processes. However, my guess is water kefir is less acidic. While I haven’t tested any for pH, it’s less ‘tangy’ in the mouth, thus probably less acidic. Someone else asked about this so I’m going to test the pH of a water kefir at some point soon. I’ll post what I find when I do! 🙂
Aloha!
Would using a straw help at all?
Yep, I think using a straw will help the front teeth. However, I haven’t figured out how to use a straw and bypass all my teeth (molars too).
Aloha!
Very cool. I make my own kombucha, and drink about 10-oz in one sitting, usually after supper, every evening. I usually brush then about 2-3 hours after that.
Sounds like you’re heading in the right direction, especially drinking your kombucha with the heaviest meal to support easier digestion and assimilation of the meal.
Thanks for posting!
Do you think drinking through a straw would help?
Yes, we do. Please check other responses on using a straw.
Aloha!
thanks! good info!! I appreciate creative solution orientation!! & “the forward side of the energy circle” can always accept more company! :-)) thankyou!!
Thank you for your supportive words! 🙂
Aloha!
I drink alot of raw milk kefir. I rinse my mouth out after but wonder if I am doing enough to protect my teeth.
We are also very active milk kefir consumers (made at home with milk from our farm). Swishing after is fine. The difference is milk is very, very rich in the minerals in bone and kefir is very alive. Such a life supporting combination really. 🙂
Great article, must admit I thought you guys had lost your mind and had thrown the baby out with the bath water! (old english saying) Nice to see your back on top x
Hehe, thanks for the words of encouragement! 🙂 After we published the last article, I questioned it too! 🙂
Aloha!
Good information. Interested in the lemon acidity.
Me too. I haven’t tested it yet.
I’m kind of curious, lemon water as mentioned above is supposed to alkalinize the body, so 1) what affect does kombucha have, and 2) how does that work anyway?
I believe that kombucha would also have a similar alkalinizing effect on the body as does lemon water. Not sure of the mechanism how it works.
Aloha!
I have pretty much given up on kombucha. It is messy, tedious, weird looking and I was just not seeing any benefit to drinking it. I do love it when it gets “fizzy”, but honestly, it just isn’t worth the effort.
Hehe, us too. We still keep a scoby just in case we want to activate it again, but it’s been ‘in storage’ for many months now. 🙂
I am wondering about ACV because it is not listed on the graph, even though it is an acid. So many of us drink this beneficial acid mixed with water. From my understanding, kombucha has both acetic acid and malic acid, like ACV. When someone ingests ACV mixed with water, the claim is that it actually has an alkalizing effect on the body. If this is true for ACV, is it possible that it is also true for kombucha? What would be the difference between the two? I know that if ACV is swallowed without being diluted by water, then it can eat at tooth enamel. Perhaps, if one swishes the mouth with water and then swallows it after drinking kombucha, the effect will be alkalizing like ACV?
I think you are on the right track about ACV. The article really is looking to bring to light the impact that any acidic drink can have on tooth enamel. The game as we mention in the article is to do whatever we can to keep the drink off our teeth and get it into the system so we can benefit from the probiotic activity.
Thanks for posting!
Great info, also, I drink it with a straw, it helps keep it off my teeth.
Yep, agreed! 🙂
Thanks for the great article. I try to swish after having anything but water, but I hadn’t thought about adding baking soda or the Wellness Blend. I also hadn’t considered what brushing right away would do to my teeth. I often drink milk over a “couple of hours” period of time. Is it acidic, or is there another problem with it?
Kudos on coming back to the subject with a more positive attitude. It seems that keeping to a positive, problem solving approach tends to be more helpful.
Thanks for the kind words of support. Re: milk, the issue is one of pH. If the drink is acidic, then it may be best for us to avoid having it repetitively wash over the teeth. The pH of milk is between 6.4 and 6.8, so really a non issue for the acid factor.
We definitely agree that keeping on the forward side of the energy circle always seems to be more helpful!
Aloha!
I would be interested in knowing your thoughts vis-a-vis homemade raw milk kefir. I consume a lot of this, and it has often been culturing for 24-48 hours so it is quite tart (and delicious, I think!). How would the pH compare?
Aloha Beth,
In the name of full disclosure, we are a milk kefir family too! So, we’re rather biased. Although the pH of milk kefir is going to be lower than milk (6.4-6.8 for milk) due to the minerals in kefir (calcium, phosphorus, etc) we think milk kefir is a much safer drink than kombucha. Then again, I don’t sip a milk kefir through the day like a soda either, which is the real issue when it comes to drinking anything acidic.
Thanks for posting!
Aloha and happy kefiring!
Thank youfor the article & the solution! What are your thoughts about keifer water? Its fermented but I’m not sure I’d it is acidic. Is it acidic? And should we drink itin onesitting & swish after drinking it?
Aloha Mimi,
Thanks for the kind words of support. While water kefir is still acidic, it’s generally not as low as kombucha (depending really on how long you ferment it). We think it a wise idea to swish after anything acidic in the mouth, especially a beverage.
Thank you and Aloha!
I appreciate you taking the time to write this article. This has been very helpful and I am so glad to learn what to do when drinking anything acidic. I also would like to have a larger chart comparing other drinks. Is ice tea the same acidic as coffee, for an example. I also want to know about lemons, since we drink a lot of infused waters, using different fruits, ie: lemons, oranges, limes, etc. Sometimes, I add minerals to this water and stevia, so how does that effect out teeth.
Great question Jean. One way to go about testing fluids you drink yourself is by quick pH test strips.
Here’s a link to ours! 🙂
Holler with any other questions Jean, we’re here to help.
would drinking through a straw help minimize contact on the teeth?
Yes, using a straw will lower the risk, however I haven’t figured out how to drink through a straw and not wash over my molars! 🙂
If you know how to do this, please shoot a video to teach us all and we’ll post it! 🙂
Aloha!
Its very possible with tounge control. Just tested with water kefir im drinking. My teeth have become very sensitive over the last month not rinsing enough.
It is just an interesting side point that the bible talks about vinegar setting your teeth on edge.
Wow, I didn’t realize that Faith! What an awesome historical reference! Thanks for this. I think we’ll have to make reference of this in future posts!
Aloha!
Personally I appreciated you raised the topic of kombucha in that previous article, and it’s also nice to receive this one.I seem to remember other articles where you have clearly stated risks, possible solutions but that you don’t always have solutions for everything. Isn’t that a plausible position to have from time to time? I certainly don’t expect a solution everytime I hear from you. What I do appreciate, however, is people (like you)willing to question the status quo – even if it is the status quo/sacred cow of the ‘healthy gut crew'(myself included there). You’re doing great work. Thanks.
Thanks for the kind words Angela. We agree that there aren’t always answers/solutions. For the record, we are very much in the ‘healthy gut crew’. In fact, one way we view the creation of health and vitality is through 3 pillars, which are:
1. Stop putting toxins in the system
2. Support gut microbial health
3. Address nutrient deficiencies
We don’t even think we can create health without actively managing the ‘support staff’ of the probiotic communities living in and on our bodies! BTW, we’re a milk kefir family! 🙂
Aloha!
We drink a lot of raw goats milk kefir. Does kefir destroy enamel as well?
Aloha Emily,
Thanks for stopping by! We think that goat kefir is great for us (presuming one does not have a leaky gut). It is acidic by nature, so it’s wise to drink it and then rinse the mouth with plain water to help normalize the pH in the mouth. However, also keep in mind that even though kefir is acidic, it’s also made from milk which has lots of alkalinizing minerals (Calcium, Phos) in it. So, we see fresh goat milk kefir as having more benefits than drawbacks for sure!
Happy Kefiring! 🙂
Does this mean you no longer think that fluoride content in Kombucha is a concern?
Hehe, good question Bonnie! It really depends on the quality of tea used to make the kombucha. If it’s organic green/black tea, you won’t have the risk of extra fluoride from pesticides on the tea. The best tea to use would be organic ‘white’ tea which is the really young leaves. These young leaves haven’t had the time to accumulate the fluoride content that more mature leaves would.
I personally still don’t drink kombucha. Fluoride causes oxidative stress to any body tissue it comes into contact with. If kombucha were the only way we could support gut health, I’d have to take a closer look. But, frankly, there are much better ways to support our gut health than kombucha anyway! 🙂
Thanks for asking! Aloha!
thanks for this article! what about water kefir? i’m thinking it’s about the same as kombucha. also, what about sparkling mineral water?
Not sure about mineral water. It really depends on what minerals whether the water would be slightly acidic, neutral or even slightly alkaline. In any case, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be much off neutral. Re water kefir, please see our comments above.
Good to know. I often drink 0.5 to 1 quart throughout the day…as well as a great deal of orange juice. I will certainly be more careful from here forward.
Yeah, be careful. We know a person who has very challenged tooth enamel. He attributes the breakdown to the fact that he used to drink lots of orange juice. Bottom line, washing tooth enamel in acids regularly means trouble.
Aloha!
Thanks for this, but honestly your first article on kombucha and fluoride levels still has me really concerned since I try to avoid fluoride.
Me too! We still avoid kombucha!
I truly appreciate this article. You are obviously growing as a blogger, and I commend you for your efforts.
Ah, thanks Elisabeth! We’re really touched with your post. Thank you for the positive feedback that we’re heading in the right direction!
Aloha!
Will: thanks so much for posting this. I was doing some things right but not all. I will incorporate the ‘swishing after’ into my lifestyle. I do drink my kombucha and wanted to continue. YOu have soooooo helped. thanks, kacy
Thanks for the support Kacy!!
Aloha!
Helpful article! I’m very interested in your testing a lemon, particularly since, despite its being acidic, it’s at the top of the list of alkalizing foods. Lemon is a staple for me too; please test soon. Thanks.
Working on that lemon test! 🙂
For those looking to test pH, head to your local home brew store and pick up some litmus paper for a few bucks. I just tested kvass at above 4.4 and ginger ale soda at 3.2, yikes! Both nutritional healing recipes.
Lemons are alkalinizing WITHIN the body, but acidic on the way in.
I’m not sure why, but a lot of foods that start out being acidic have an alkalizing effect on the body. Lemons are an example of this. I am relieved, because I love them too!
Good to know, thank you. I bet drinking it with a straw could help too
Yep, I think a straw would help, at least for the front teeth! 🙂
I did an apple juice cleanse regularly and it saved my gallbladder but after a year or so I got to the point where I went one day too far and damaged the enamel on the edges of my teeth very visibly. It was better than an operation to remove the gb but wish I had taken some precautions like swishing afterwards – the thing about straws is you have to actually mix some juices with your saliva to predigest or else they effect you blood sugar.
As for repairing enamel – I have heard some people say it can be done – let’s look into that a bit more!
Should we have the same concerns when consuming water with raw apple cider vinegar?
Would drinking with a straw such as a stainless steel straw also help to mitigate the possible effects on the teeth, in addition to rinsing with plain water afterward?
Aloha Beth,
Yes, I believe that any acidic drink should be reason to rinse with plain water after. And using a straw would lower the risk of washing over all the teeth for sure.
Would this article also apply to water kefir?
Thanks,
Bill
Yes, I think so Bill. While I haven’t tested our water kefir, it does produce lactic acid so rinsing after this is prudent I think as well.
Thank you!
I’ve been trying to increase probiotic intake, so I recently started to drink kombucha but wasn’t aware of the damage it does to teeth. I eat grapefruit regularly, too, and have noticed how that’s affecting my teeth. This information is fantastic and quite useful! Thanks!
Yep, if you tune in after eating a grapefruit, you’ll feel the teeth feeling kind of ‘open’. That’s the acids working on the enamel. 🙁 Swishing with water after eating grapefruit will help too.
Aloha!
Thanks for tip on drinking kombucha. I try to rinse my mouth as much as possible after eating or drinking. However, I now learned that we should brush our teeth immediately after drinking kombucha.
Aloha Mark,
Actually, for the sake of making sure there are no conflicting points here, we discourage you to brush immediately after drinking anything acidic. The acids ‘loosen’ the surface enamel. If brushed at that point, you could ‘liberate’ more enamel than if you did nothing. So, wait 30 minutes prior to brushing after drinking any highly acidic beverages. Make sense?
Aloha!
If I recall, a good portion of your last article spoke about the fluoride in kombucha given that it is made from black tea. Is that still the case? By the way, I love your healthy mouth blend and I attended your Healthy Mouth summit and learned so much. Before that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Thank you! Jennie
Aloha Jennie,
Thank you for the kind words of support. I believe that many kombuchas on the market are made from black tea. However, I also think that the fermentation process probably lowers the fluoride content in kombucha some. So, our biggest concern now is the acidic factor we bring to light here.
Thank you for posting!
If you’re making kombucha with organic tea isn’t that a different story? I’ve seen bloggers say that, but I’d like to know your opinion on that.
Aloha Liz,
Yes, I believe that using organic tea, in particular ‘white tea’ (made from very young tea leaves) is going to offer the least exposure to fluoride. The tea plant accumulates fluoride in its leaves and the young leaves haven’t had time to do this as sufficiently since they are young. Make sense?
All in all, I think that if a person enjoys kombucha, using organic white tea will be fine. You may want to read our other article on this subject titled ‘how to drink kombucha and NOT destroy your teeth’ here.
Thank you and Aloha!
Use a straw. Done. Easy. Lemon water too.
Xo~ L
(Aka the dentist’s daughter)
Hehe dentist’s daughter!
Question for you… How do you use a straw and avoid bathing the molars? I’ve tried and tried and while I can avoid front teeth, the drink still washes the molars. Got any solutions for this?
Aloha!
Thanks so much for this second article on kombucha. You’re right, the first one was not in the spirit of your other work, and I appreciate that you have put more work into this issue.
I have been swishing water after drinking kombucha for a long time because I could feel the effect on my teeth. Love the video, and I plan to share it with friends.
My remaining question about kombucha is, has anyone tested the fluoride levels of fully fermented kombucha? I would like to know the effect the whole process has on the fluoride content.
Thanks for sharing your work!
Aloha Patti,
Thanks for the supporting words here on our realization to get back to the ‘forward side’! 🙂
I plan to test kombuchas in the future but need to do some research on which fluoride meter to purchase to do the research.
Stay tuned… 🙂
I have observed the same problem with my patients and recommended the same solutions with good results so far.
I wrote a letter to the Weston A Price Foundation about this and offered the solutions but they refused to publish it because it didn’t fit their narrative that primitive people ate lots of fermented acidic food and drink but still had great teeth so we should too. So we are getting into sacred cow territory again. So for all the modern day folks out there who want to keep their teeth and still enjoy the benefits of kombucha etc. I would heed the warning.
Aloha Dr Berman!
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your experience here! I hear you on the sacred cow issue. We do our best to avoid this type of filtering of data and simply share the raw research. Perhaps if our diets really had the level of fat soluble vitamins Dr Price found in traditional cultures, we would also be able to drink acidic drinks regularly without damage.
I’m glad to hear that our suggestions are in line with your findings!
Thank you and Aloha!
Thanks for posting this! I’ve only tried kombucha once, but I’ve been experimenting more with homemade soda, probiotic soda fermented with a ginger bug. Would this Ph probably go for any fermented drink like that? Thanks!
Yep, I think that any fermented drink is going to be some level of acidic. So, probably best to swish with plain water after consuming and not sip it through a day…
Aloha!
Very helpful suggestions thanks. What about Beet Kvass? Is that just as acidic as Kombucha?
Aloha Jill,
While I tend to lump all fermented drinks into the acidic side, from my experience with making beet kvass it really doesn’t feel nearly as acidic to me. For the sake of clarity, I haven’t tested the pH of kvass, but I really think that given that we don’t add sugars to kvass but rely on the naturally occurring sugars in the beets, my sense is kvass is much less of an issue.
Once I dust off my pH meter, we can get more hard evidence on the issue! 🙂
Aloha!
I’m confused. If water is the most acidic at 7, how can it be any good to swish one’s mouth with water after drinking a less acidic product like kombucha which is only at 2.85. ??
Aloha Starlene,
I think the confusion lies in the understanding of the pH scale. 7 is considered neutral. Less than 7 is acidic, the lower the more acidic. Greater than 7 is alkaline, the higher the number the more alkaline. I hope this helps to make sense why rinsing with water (pH +/- 7) is wise after drinking drinks of lower (more acidic) pH.
Thank you!
hi there-would drinking it with a straw help?
You guys rock – as always!
Thanks for the kind support Lea! You rock too! 🙂
Aloha!
Thanks for this article, and the last one! Personally, I didn’t have a problem with your last Kombucha article. I welcome different perspectives and like to think I’m smart enough to make my own decisions 🙂
Hehe, thanks for sharing Kelly! Glad to hear that you are on your toes and thinking! 🙂
Aloha!
Drinking through a straw could also help.
That’s what I thought, too. Just put the straw in your mouth so that the fluid doesn’t really have to make much contact, if any, with your teeth. I don’t drink kombucha, so it’s not an issue for me. I do drink a glass of water with lemon in the morning … followed by a glass of water, which I think helps wash away the acid from the lemon. I just had my teeth cleaned at a new dental office last week. The hygienist was surprised and commented on how healthy my teeth and gums are, and what good color they have. I don’t smoke cigarettes, don’t drink sodas, don’t drink coffee. I drink mostly non-fluoridated water mixed 50/50 with Gerolsteiner mineral water. I drink iced tea from sun tea made from herbs in my garden in the summers, and warm teas in the winter; again, always using non-fluoridated water.
Sounds idyllic! 🙂
Good article — I love your positive attitude.
Until I read your previous article about the fluoride, I made my own kombucha and drank it (but not in large quantities). I will still drink it occasionally. But the key word is *occasionally*. I think the problem with the “sacred cow” is that people think that they NEED some kind of soft drink to replace the soda that they used to drink. So, because they’ve been told that fermented drinks are SO good for you, they guiltlessly guzzle large quantities of kombucha so they don’t feel “deprived”. I feel that kombucha should be viewed as a sort of “condiment” or supplement, something you use in small quantities for its health benefits.
Thanks Maryjane for your words of support!
We agree that kombucha should be treated as a detox tool and condiment and not slide in as a ‘healthy’ replacement to soda. Bottom line here, drinking anything acidic throughout the day will cause trouble over time…
Thank you and Aloha!
Great article!:) Thanks for posting this Will.
Thanks Mario!
I drink gallons of lemon water. I would imagine this would help w/ that too. Any chance you could find out the acidity of lemon water and post the results? The ratio is 1 medium lemon squeezed(juice & pulp, not skin or pith) per 16 oz of water.
Yep, my guess is that would be somewhat acidic. I’ll test it the next time I have a lemon on hand and let you know here! 🙂
I destroyed the enamel on my teeth doing half a gallon of lemon water and half a gallon of tea (no sugar in either) per day pretty much every day at work for years. Darn conventional wisdom on fluid intake and my poor decision on what those fluids needed to taste like to get enough in. Without getting a lot of crowns or some technology I don’t know about, I’ll never be able to smile w/out the brown, enamelless parts on my front teeth showing thru.
I hear you Aaron and wish that more people could learn from your experience to avoid the same damage. We have heard of others doing this by drinking lots of orange juice too. I’m sorry to hear of your experience. The good news is there is plenty we can do with diet to support greater oral health regardless of the shape of the outside of our teeth.
Aloha!
I just read the comment about tooth enamel. I lost a lot of my enamel on the backs of my front teeth, so much that you can see the yellow dentin and you can see light through my front teeth. My dentist wants to coat my teeth with a resin-based composite. would that resin inhibit my body’s ability to make more tooth enamel on those teeth? Is it possible for my body to make enough enamel to strengthen my teeth. I am trying to avoid the resin if possible. Thank you for all your information. My friend has ordered Shine for me. Will I still need to take the Healthy Mouth Blend if I use the powder? I await your reply. Marie from Delray Beach, FL
I’m interested as well. I’ve been drinking lemon and ACV in warm to hot water first thing in the morning since learning it is good for jump starting the metabolism as well as detoxing the body. Am I doing more harm than good?
Aloha Tammy,
Thanks for stopping by. I don’t think you are doing more harm than good as these alkalinizing drinks are good for us. Just be aware of the implications to your teeth and take steps to mitigate any potential harm by swishing with plain water after consuming them. My big ‘beef’ about kombucha is how so many people can sip it through the day and have essentially made it a ‘healthy person’s soda’. Bottom line, sipping sweet, acidic drinks throughout the day will negatively impact our oral health. Sure, soda has other junk in it that harms us in other ways too. We offer this article to help each of us keep it in perspective.
We hope it helps. 🙂
This article by Denise Minger taught me a lot about the pH of foods (regardless of one’s dietary perspective), and may be useful for you, too. Some of the foods that have an acidic pH may surprise you, as they did me — bananas! Honey!
Drinking lemon water is basically bathing your teeth in acid all day long.
Agreed. It really helps to keep this in mind when eating and drinking, especially those foods/drinks we consume very regularly!
Aloha!
I’m glad our first article didn’t scare you away. 🙂 We like to be much more solution oriented.
Thanks for posting!