Coffee Drinking Linked to Tooth Decay

People who drink at least one cup of coffee a day are much more likely to lose one or more teeth, according to a recent study.

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A joint research team of St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, Korea University's Anam Hospital and Catholic University of Korea analyzed the dental health and coffee consumption of 7,299 adults based on public health data in 2010 and 2011.

It found that people who drank at least one cup of coffee per day were 1.69 times more likely to have 19 or fewer of their 28 teeth left than people who drink only one cup of coffee per month.

People who drink coffee two to six times a week are 1.34 times more likely, and people who drink it two to four times a month are 1.16 times more likely to lose teeth.

The research team blamed sugar and coffee whitener rather than coffee itself.