If you drink matcha on a daily basis and notice a slightly off colour on your teeth, you’re not imagining things. Let’s take a closer look at what the science says about how likely it is that matcha will stain your teeth, what causes it, and most importantly, how you can prevent it from becoming a problem.
So, Does Matcha Stain Teeth At The End Of The Day?
Matcha can indeed cause your teeth to stain due to the presence of tannins and chlorophyll, but, fortunately, it tends to stain less than coffee or black tea and is perfectly manageable if you keep to good oral hygiene practices. The more matcha you drink, the higher the risk of stains building up on your teeth, especially if you are drinking multiple cups a day and sipping away over a long period of time.
Does Matcha Actually Stain Your Teeth?
Yes, matcha can cause some mild staining on the surface of your teeth, but generally it’s much milder than coffee or strong black tea. In most cases, it’s also easy to just remove the tooth discolouration with a bit of regular brushing and dental cleanings.
The staining from matcha usually shows up as a slight greenish or greyish tinge, rather than the darker brown discolouration you get from drinking coffee. The staining from matcha is mostly just superficial, sitting on the surface of your teeth rather than deep inside the tooth. It’s also usually tied up in plaque and microscopic bits of tooth enamel roughness.
If you drink matcha regularly, it does increase the chances that you will get noticeable staining, but even heavy users of matcha face less risk if they drink just one matcha latte per week compared with someone who drinks three cups per day.
What in Matcha Can Stain Your Teeth?
Several natural compounds in matcha green tea are responsible for its staining potential, much the same as with other types of tea.
- Tannins: Matcha contains tannins (bitter polyphenols also found in black tea, red wine and coffee) that can bind to your enamel and plaque over time, causing discolouration. However, matcha contains less tannin than coffee, which is one reason it tends to stain less easily.
- Chlorophyll: Matcha’s green pigment (the stuff that gives it its vibrant green colour) can temporarily stain plaque or rough enamel surfaces, but is generally not as intense as the chromogens found in coffee.
- Fine powder: Because matcha is the whole ground tea leaf, it can easily settle into tooth grooves and surface irregularities more easily than regular steeped green tea leaves.
- Strength of the brew and exposure time: Thicker, more ceremonial matcha tends to deliver more pigment per sip than a thin matcha latte, and the longer that pigment sits on your teeth, the higher the staining risk.
Matcha contains natural pigments and tannins, but to be honest its much milder than most people think.
The Role of Dental Plaque in Matcha Staining
The sticky biofilm of bacteria, food debris and saliva on your teeth that builds up every day is known as plaque. It’s here, rather than in the enamel itself, where matcha pigments first tend to collect. It’s the tannins in matcha that bind to the proteins in plaque, creating the dull or tinged look that can be visible on your teeth.
Consistent brushing and flossing (at least morning and night), plus regular dental cleanings every six months, can greatly reduce visible staining. If plaque has hardened into tartar, then matcha, black tea and coffee pigments become much harder to remove and may need a professional cleaning to get rid of.
Matcha vs. Coffee, Black Tea & Regular Green Tea
Switching to matcha from coffee or black tea will generally reduce the risk of staining on your teeth. Matcha tends to stain less than coffee, but more than some other types of green tea.
It’s the type and concentration of tannins that vary between green tea and other drinks. The way you drink tea, clean your teeth, and overall oral hygiene habits, rather than the specific type of drink, is what most impacts your chances of getting tooth staining.
How Matcha Pigments Differ from Coffee & Black Tea
Coffee has dark brown chromogens and a lower pH, which can roughen up your enamel, making it easier for stains to stick. Matcha is less acidic than coffee and has much lower levels of chromogens, which is why it’s less likely to cause staining. Black tea tends to be fully oxidised, and as a result, it has a lot more tannins that lead to that nasty yellow-brown staining. Matchas, on the other hand, have a lightness to them thanks to the chlorophyll-based pigments that mean they stain less easily, but, because you’re essentially drinking the whole leaf, you end up with more contact between those pigment particles and the surface of your teeth.
If you’re desperately trying to cut down on severe brown staining, switching from a few cups of coffee a day to 1 or 2 cups of pure matcha green tea is probably a decent compromise.
Beyond Staining: The Real Oral Health Benefits of Matcha
Matcha stain worries should really be weighed up against its many oral health and general health benefits, in my opinion. Matcha is full of catechins, which are incredibly powerful antioxidants, especially EGCG, which makes up 40-48% of catechins in green teas. These compounds are great for oral health as they reduce populations of bacteria that can cause cavities and gum disease.
Research shows that green tea compounds can lower the risk of periodontal disease, improve gum health and cut back on bad breath-causing sulfur compounds. Because matcha is the whole leaf, you tend to get a lot more of these catechins than with standard brewed green tea, which means the benefits are amplified.
Matcha contains compounds that help stop the growth of pathogens that cause cavities. Its catechins reduce the formation of cavities by interfering with the activity of bacteria like Streptococcus mutans.
Matcha also reduces the amount of ‘bad’ bacteria in your mouth and promotes healthy mouth flora with minimal bad bacteria. And because of this, it can also help cut back on bad breath by affecting bacteria on the tongue and gums that produce those yucky odours. It stops gum disease and periodontal disease thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
Switching from sugary drinks to matcha is a generally good idea, even if it does mean you might get a bit of mild staining. People with a high risk of gum disease may find that matcha is a better option than drinking sweet coffee, as long as they keep on top of their dental health.
How To Drink Matcha Without Staining Your Teeth
You don’t have to give up on matcha altogether; you just need to be mindful of a few simple habits to avoid stained teeth.
- Rinse your mouth with water right after drinking matcha to get those pigments off the enamel.
- Use a straw to sip on matcha when you’re drinking iced lattes- or better yet, just eat it with meals rather than sipping on it all day.
- Wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth after matcha so the enamel has a chance to harden again, then go ahead and brush like normal.
- Regular checkups and cleanings with the dentist are great for removing the pigment that’s built up in your teeth.
Matcha Lattes And Sugar Aren’t Exactly Best Friends
The way you prepare your matcha can actually have a huge impact on how much it stains and how good it is for your teeth. Those café-style matcha lattes are often full of sugar and syrups that make for a cavity formation risk and feed all sorts of bad bacteria, which then go on to produce acid that weakens the tooth enamel. Sugar makes it easier for your teeth to absorb pigments from drinks, which can get into the teeth and cause stains. Research shows that adding milk (especially casein protein) can reduce tannin staining, but many flavoured milks and creamers add a load of sugar, which negates that benefit. If you want to preserve matcha’s benefits for your teeth and reduce the staining risk, opt for a lightly sweetened or unsweetened version.
Are Matcha Lattes Going to Wreck My Teeth?
From a dental health angle, sweet matcha lattes are usually worse for your teeth than just drinking a cup of plain matcha in water. Lattes are more likely to stick around on your teeth for longer because they’re thicker and have extra fat, which means you get more opportunity for your teeth to be exposed to sugar and pigments. Drinking big, sugary matcha drinks throughout the day can really up the risk of getting cavities and stains on your teeth.
Try to limit matcha lattes to the occasional treat and drink them quickly rather than sipping them over a long time. Follow it up with a good water rinse, and all should be fine. Pure matcha is the way to get the best oral health benefits with the least risk of staining, even though it’s still possible to get a bit of staining.
Matcha, Teeth Whitening & When to Get Dental Care at DDR
If you’ve just had professional teeth whitening, your enamel may be temporarily more porous and prone to staining from brightly colored foods and drinks such as matcha, green tea, coffee, and red wine.
It’s best to avoid matcha for at least 48 to 72 hours after whitening and focus on rinsing with water, using a straw when appropriate, and maintaining good oral hygiene. If you notice rapid, uneven, or persistent staining, it’s a good idea to schedule a dental evaluation, as it could indicate an underlying issue affecting your teeth or gums.
At Dental Del Rio, our team provides personalised care backed by more than 100 years of combined experience and is proud to be affiliated with the American Dental Association. Whether you need guidance after a teeth whitening treatment or an evaluation for unexpected changes in your smile, we’re here to help. We also offer free virtual diagnostics, making it easy to take the first step toward maintaining a healthy, confident smile from the comfort of your home.
