It is a general tendency of people working in an organization to resort to certain measures to reduce their work stress or boredom. At times one requires something to cure one’s headache after long hours at the work desk. Tea and coffee are the beverages, preferred for this purpose.

BENEFITS OF COFFEE AND TEA

Drinking of tea and coffee has various benefits. Recent research has revealed that drinking of tea; green tea in particular, leads to prevention of rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, cataracts and even cancer. Green tea is said to aid the weight loss program, as drinking of green tea helps burn more calories.  One of the best benefits of green tea is that it helps to fight bacteria, thus giving the immune system a boost.  It helps lower blood sugar and cholesterol. Drinking green tea also arrests the ageing process.

As with tea, drinking coffee has many benefits. Coffee offsets some of the bad habits of people like smoking or heavy drinking.

Research has shown that smokers who drink coffee are less likely to suffer from heart disease than those who do not. Drinking coffee is also reported to prevent liver disease in heavy drinkers.  The antioxidants in coffee prevent the occurrence of colon cancer. Trigonelline, an ingredient of coffee is also reported to prevent tooth decay.

STRUCTURE OF THE TEETH

The surface of the teeth is composed up of tooth enamel.  This is a hard material protecting the inner tissues of the teeth. Although the enamel is hard, it is also porous, thus leaving it susceptible to staining with prolonged exposure to certain foods or drinks. The enamel covering the teeth is semi-transparent and underneath that is the material called as dentin. This dentin is softer than enamel.

EFFECTS OF COFFEE AND TEA ON TEETH

Prolonged exposure of the tooth enamel to drinks like coffee and tea lead to staining of the teeth.  This happens because the tea and coffee contain brown or yellow dyes, which penetrates the enamel and stains the dentin. This is how most tooth stains appear. Tea tends to stain the teeth more than coffee does. A shining example of this is the condition of the white mug that one uses for tea and for coffee. After prolonged use, the tea mug will have stained more than the one used for coffee.  Tea and coffee tend to stain the teeth as the tannic acid (the stuff that makes the dark color) etches into the pits and grooves of tooth enamel thus staining it brown.