Coffee, soda or wine? Dentist reveals the drink that stains teeth the most

Could your favorite drink be the biggest culprit in your yellowing smile? While coffee, tea, wine, and soda have long been blamed for discoloring teeth and weakening enamel, one of them surprisingly stands out as the worst offender. In a viral TikTok experiment, a California dentist revealed the unexpected title winner – and it may not have been what you expected.

Dr. Miles Madison, a dentist popular on TikTok under the nickname “The Gumfather,” shared a surprising discovery from an experiment that left him “shocked.” He soaked four extracted teeth in coffee, tea, soda, and red wine for ten days to see which caused the most discoloration.

“I wasn’t ready for that,” Dr. Madison admitted, revealing that the tooth dipped in red wine was stained almost entirely purple. “The red wine stained the entire tooth. It stained the enamel, the root, the whole thing. Red wine definitely causes the most discoloration,” he said.

The video revealed that all four drinks caused significant staining, with tea causing the least staining. When comparing coffee and tea stains, coffee caused darker stains, especially at the roots.

Another surprising discovery was that the tooth soaked in baking soda was distinguished by more than just discoloration. Although it became noticeably dark, the acidic nature of the baking soda also caused visible pitting on the tooth surface.

“Not only did the coke heavily stain the tooth, but it also caused small pits to form because the acid had kind of eaten away at the enamel and some of the root structure,” he said.

In a separate video, Dr. Madison highlighted another reason why soda can be harmful: its staggering sugar content. Showing the equivalent of nine teaspoons of sugar packed into one can of Coke, he warned viewers of the risks. “Do I drink Coke? Hell no,” he said, making it clear he was avoiding sugary drinks.

However, the question remains whether the tooth-soaking experiment truly reflects real-life situations, since people typically do not immerse their teeth or mouths in these drinks for 10 hours straight.

Adding to this in another video, Dr. Madison explains, “Drinking coffee throughout your life is like soaking your teeth in coffee for 228 days in a row – and if you drink two cups a day, that would be 456 days!”