Is Apple Cider Vinegar Bad For Your Teeth? How To Use Safely In 2024

Apple cider vinegar is the commercial byproduct of fermented apple juice. You can read a ton online about the health benefits of undiluted apple cider vinegar, many of them related to gut health, hair care, and its use as an all-natural cleaning agent, among others.

The acetic acid in fermented apple cider vinegar makes it strong enough to power through many problems. Are surface stains on tooth enamel fair game? Can drinking apple cider vinegar damage tooth enamel, just like other acidic foods and drinks?

When it comes to your oral health, we advise you to err on the side of caution. Do these claims of dental erosion have any merit, though? Drinking apple cider vinegar can do a lot for you, but what can it do for your teeth?

Does Apple Cider Vinegar Damage Your Teeth?

Another study,^[2] this one conducted by the international journal Clinical Laboratory on human wisdom teeth samples, demonstrated vinegar’s ability to erode the outside of the teeth and rob it of calcium oxide at depths of up to 60 microns.

While apple cider vinegar was not included in this study, it does speak to the impact of acidic compounds on teeth in an immersive, contained setting. When you consider the fact that apple cider vinegar is usually exceeded only by white distilled vinegar in terms of acid content, it’s easy to see how an apple cider vinegar rinse might be able to cause a similar type of enamel damage.

With that being said, you’ll find a lot of evidence concerning apple cider vinegar specifically in this area, often used^[3] as a supplement to lose weight. The best way to protect your teeth is to avoid prolonged, undiluted exposure to apple cider vinegar, just as you would with coffee, soda, or any other highly acidic food or beverage.

How To Use Apple Cider Vinegar Safely

We can’t advise the use of apple cider vinegar as a neutral solution to whiten teeth, especially if you already struggle with tooth sensitivity. There are, however, still a ton of ways that you can take advantage of the various health benefits of apple cider vinegar and other acidic fruit juices:

• As a hot or cold tonic — one or two tablespoons diluted in fresh, filtered, distilled water can be sweetened for an extremely refreshing detox beverage.
• Apple cider vinegar is great in salad dressings, its highly acidic nature pairs gorgeously with healthy fats like avocado and olive oil.
• Apply cider vinegar to make marinating easy, the acetic acid penetrating the inner layers of the cut, delivering big-time flavor throughout.
• For a home remedy for cleaner hair, you can use a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar as a clarifying hair rinse.
• You can also use diluted apple cider vinegar to tone your skin with a natural buffer, but to avoid its most damaging effects, be sure to spot test on a small patch of skin to find your ideal dilution ratio.
• Apple cider vinegar makes the perfect chemical-free cleaning agent, reducing the risk that your routine poses to your family.

Can apple cider vinegar be used to freshen your breath? Perhaps, but the effect might come at a cost. According to this inquiry, exposing the bacteria in your mouth to newly elevated pH levels may help them adapt to thrive^[4] in an acidic environment.

Does this mean that you should avoid apple cider vinegar altogether? The answers might not always be clear or straightforward, but the consensus is that moderate apple cider vinegar consumption will usually bring with it more benefits than risks. 

Drinking it straight from the bottle might not be advisable, nor is using it for teeth whitening, but any of the home remedies above are generally considered safe for anybody or any household.

The Bottom Line

Drinking apple cider vinegar damages the surface of your teeth, which may lead to tooth decay and even tooth loss over time. There are so many ways to use this apple juice byproduct responsibly and safely, however.

Teeth whitening is not one of them, but that doesn’t mean you should discount all the other health benefits that it has to offer outside of your tooth enamel.

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