Taking care of your teeth in the morning involves more than brushing and flossing. What you choose to eat for breakfast can have a major impact on your teeth and possibly even lead to staining and tooth decay. By choosing healthier options, you can support your oral health from the moment you wake up.
When choosing what to eat for breakfast, "I'm looking at whole-body health," Dr. Erinne Kennedy, consumer advisor spokesperson for the American Dental Association and assistant dean of curriculum and integrated learning for Kansas City University College of Dental Medicine, tells TODAY.com.
"I want something that is going to fuel my body with protein, good fats and fiber," she explains. "And I want to make sure that what I'm eating for breakfast is supporting the growth of good bacteria in my mouth."
That's why she starts most days with a large glass of water right when she wakes up. "Sometimes, we wake up with dry mouth, which could be because of a lack of hydration or mouth breathing (during the night)," Kennedy explains.
From there, Kennedy and other experts tell TODAY.com that they choose breakfast foods that help keep them full throughout the morning and won't stain teeth.
What dentists eat for breakfast:
Avocado toast with egg whites
"I usually go with avocado toast," Dr. Tricia Quartey, a Brooklyn-based dentist and ADA spokesperson, tells TODAY.com.
She uses whole-grain toast topped with half an avocado and egg whites. "Having the healthy fat keeps me full, but I'm also having a healthier carb to get me going in the morning," Quartey explains.
Fruit-filled smoothies
Dr. Irina Kessler, a dentist at New York Family Dental Arts, tells TODAY.com that she usually has a green smoothie or juice in the mornings.
"I'll make it myself because I just prefer to know what I'm putting in it," Kessler says. Her smoothies usually contain kale, spinach, frozen mango, lemon, celery, banana and coconut water. "It's nutritious, but it will stain your teeth if you're bleaching," she cautions, so she suggests drinking it through a straw if you're using whitening products.
During the week, Kennedy has the same protein shake for breakfast every single morning, made with unsweetened and unflavored pea protein, almond milk, raspberries, banana, flax seed and supplements that add nutrients like extra fiber and collagen. A diet that's almost totally plant-based "fuels my body the most," she says.
When she's working out, Kessler also likes a protein smoothie made with pea protein, almond milk, almond butter and banana.
Steel-cut oatmeal
Oatmeal made with steel-cut oats is one of Kennedy's favorite healthy, fiber-rich breakfasts. She's careful to choose oatmeal that doesn't have any sugar added and instead contains ingredients like flax or chia seeds.
Those seeds "act together to be like a probiotic for good bacteria in your mouth," she explains. "And if you want to really up your prebiotics, which feed that good bacteria in your mouth, you can also add a sliced banana in there."
Quartey is also a fan of steel-cut oats, which she makes with water, cinnamon and some artificial sweetener.
Yogurt with berries, nuts and seeds
Nonfat Greek yogurt with berries is another of Quartey’s typical breakfasts. To avoid eating sugar, she mixes in a sugar substitute, usually erythritol, rather than opting for flavored yogurt or putting something like honey on top.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol found naturally in some foods, which tastes better and is less acidic than other artificial sweeteners, Quartey says.
Greek yogurt with fruit on the side, like apples and pears, is a go-to breakfast for Dr. Kevin Sands, a Beverly Hills-based cosmetic dentist. "It's a good probiotic and it has a lot of calcium, which is good for the bones," he tells TODAY.com.
"We've known for a long time that milk proteins provide calcium and phosphate for your teeth, and you actually need calcium and phosphate to help your teeth remineralize," Kennedy explains. She often eats Greek yogurt and cottage cheese for breakfast, both of which she usually has with berries, seeds and nuts.
"Many nuts and seeds contain an amino acid called arginine," Kennedy explains, "and arginine specifically feeds good bacteria in a way that's been shown to prevent tooth decay." Sunflower seeds have the most arginine in them, so she carries little packs of them with her to top her on-the-go breakfasts.
Kessler is also a fan of Greek yogurt with berries, like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. It’s a great, healthy option, she says, and you don’t have to brush afterward because the yogurt is white and won’t get stuck in your teeth. Any potential staining from a handful of berries will be minimal, she adds.
Tofu scramble with greens
Kennedy eats tofu frequently, including in the morning. She'll often have a tofu scramble made with greens, mushrooms, some lean protein and avocado on top.
It's a breakfast formula she often recommends to patients, as well. And, depending on their cholesterol and recommendations from a patient's cardiologist, they may choose to have their veggies scrambled with eggs instead, Kennedy says.
Whole-grain toast with almond butter
Sands generally prefers to have a lighter-yet-filling breakfast because he typically works through lunch, but doesn’t want to be uncomfortably full during the day. “I’m working on so many patients doing these surgeries all day," he explains. "I just want to focus on having a lot of energy and being able to move freely."
One breakfast that fits that bill for Sands is whole-grain toast topped with almond butter. He goes for almond butter specifically because it's "richer in vitamins and minerals like vitamin E than regular peanut butter," he says.
Eggs to-go
When she needs breakfast on the go, Kessler takes some hard-boiled eggs with her to work. Whole eggs may not be "great in terms of cholesterol as you get older, but they're a great source of protein and very low in fat," she says.
"If I'm home and I have time, I'll do scrambled eggs," she says, adding that she often tries to mimic the style of a particularly fluffy omelet she had in Paris years ago. But she's often rushing to work during the week, so she typically saves that for the weekend.
Take care with coffee
Many people — including some of the experts TODAY.com spoke to — consider coffee an essential part of their morning routine. But it's also one of the most common culprits when it comes to teeth staining.
To prevent coffee from staining her teeth, Quartey rinses with water or fluoride mouthwash after her morning cup, which she drinks with almond milk and a dash of cinnamon. "That helps me avoid putting sugar in my coffee," she explains. Kennedy, also a regular coffee drinker, makes sure to have a glass of fluoridated tap water alongside her coffee so that she can alternate sips.
Sands drinks coffee in the mornings, but he adds milk to make it lighter in color and, therefore, less likely to stain.
However, coffee can still stain your teeth if you have it with milk, Kessler says, “and for sure, if it’s black, you’ll even see the film on your teeth from the coffee if you don’t brush afterward.” She recommends everyone brush their teeth after having coffee in the morning — regardless of what they add.
But wait about 20 minutes after having something acidic, like your coffee, before brushing or you'll be "brushing it into your teeth," Quartey says.
Another option is to drink iced coffee because it tends to come with a straw, which can help prevent staining, Sands says. And even hot coffee can be sipped through a reusable silicone straw, Kessler says.
If you have time, Kennedy says, the ideal routine is to drink your coffee within about 15 minutes, rinse with fluoridated water afterward, wait a little bit and then brush your teeth. "That's the best practice, and it still allows you to have the thing that gets you going in the morning," she says.
Another alternative is to switch to tea for your morning caffeine, especially green or black tea. Tea naturally contains fluoride, which can help prevent tooth decay, Kennedy says.
What dentists avoid eating for breakfast:
Sugary cereals, pancakes, waffles and pastries
"Dentists don't do sugar," Quartey says. That means that classic breakfast items like sugary cereal and pastries, as well as syrup-topped pancakes and waffles are generally off the menu. Pre-packaged treats, like toaster pastries, should also be avoided, Sands says.
“Staying away from any of those non-complex carbohydrates or pastries that are full of sugar is definitely going to help you feel better and help shift (to a healthier) microbiome over time,” Kennedy says.
Still, that doesn't mean you can never eat your favorite sugary foods, Kessler says. "I always believe that everyone should eat what they want in moderation," she explains.
"If you want to have a waffle, have it. Enjoy your life," Kessler says. "But try to brush your teeth if you're going to have a waffle on that one day because it'll be stuck in your teeth versus the yogurt that won't."
Gummy vitamins
Many people have multivitamins in the morning along with their breakfast and coffee, but gummy vitamins aren't ideal for oral health.
"Gummy vitamins are still just candy. And they're sticky, which is the worst type of candy," Quartey says. "I can look at somebody's mouth and tell they're a sticky candy person just by the way their cavities look because it just gets down into these grooves (in the teeth)."
She recommends using a different type of vitamin, like a pill or even a liquid, rather than gummies.