You may drink a cup of tea to warm you up on a cold night, but, did you know that certain teas are good for your oral health? The following are 3 simple teas that you can consider.

Sweet and Sour Tea

This is a simple tea that uses a little lemon juice and raw honey. Raw honey contains enzymes that help stop bacterial reproduction. An overgrowth of harmful bacteria can lead to things like bad breath or cavities. Raw honey will also kill some of the oral pathogens already present in your mouth by dehydration. This is due to raw honey's osmotic nature.

You can purchase raw honey from your local health food store, bee farm, farmer's market, or online.  

Lemon is acidic and should be limited, as too much can damage your enamel. But the heat of the water should relax its acidic nature. The acidic component in lemon is citric acid, which should help lift some surface stains from your teeth. 

To make your tea, follow the steps below:

1. Mix the juice of 1 lemon with hot water.
2. Stir in two tablespoons of raw honey or to your liking.

Leaf Tea

Sage contains several antibacterial properties that will be helpful to your mouth. Having a little sage in your tea introduces thujone (a highly antibacterial active ingredient) to your oral cavity. Thujone helps target and kill the bacteria responsible for dental ailments such as bad breath.

To make your sage tea, just follow the steps below:

1. Add 1 to 3 fresh sage leaves to a cup of hot water, and let it fuse for 5 minutes.
2. You can add raw honey to make the tea sweet, as sage is quite astringent. Honey (as mentioned earlier) will add antibacterial properties to your tea.

Stick Tea

Cinnamon contains several antibacterial agents that help kill the pathogens responsible for bad breath and cavities. This is because cinnamon contains an active ingredient called cinnamaldehyde, which is also responsible for the distinguishable smell cinnamon has. Cinnamaldehyde is long-lasting and continues to kill oral pathogens long after consuming it. 

Follow the steps below to make your tea:

1. Place a fresh cinnamon stick or add 1/8 of a teaspoon of cinnamon powder to a cup of hot water.
2. Add some raw honey to your liking.

There you have it. These are just a few more ways to have your cup of tea and improve your oral health at the same time. Remember that these drinks are only meant to help prevent dental ailments, not cure them. So do not neglect regular dental visits. 

To learn more, contact a dental office like Silverado Family Dental.