The potentially scary way experts say you can avoid tooth damage from your morning coffee

Coffee is one of Americans’ favorite beverages, with more than two-thirds drinking a cup of joe every day.

The morning staple can provide protective effects for our heart , liver, gut and brain - but dentists have long warned too much of the stimulating drink can erode enamel that protects our teeth.

Now, the Cleveland Clinic suggests an easy but potentially nerve-wracking way to prevent tooth damage, depending on your health and how hot your coffee is. Drinking coffee quickly can help limit time for bad bacteria to form and acid to linger.- but there are some drawbacks to your health.

“The longer you sip on it, the more time it has to coat your teeth,” the clinic warned in a post on Thursday.

“Saliva washes away food particles and neutralizes oral pH. But it’s not instantaneous,” Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center also notes.

Hot coffee brewed at a temperature over 150 degrees Fahrenheit can burn the mouth, tongue and esophagus in just a couple of seconds , according to the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. Damage to the esophagus over a prolonged period of time can make its cells susceptible to cancer over time, too.

“When you experience burns on your skin, like sunburn, over a prolonged period of time, the cells start to change to protect themselves,” Dr. Mario Katigbak, chief of thoracic surgery at Connecticut’s Hartford Hospital, explained in a statement .

The rush of caffeine and acid from drinking coffee quickly may also be of concern.

The influx of acid from coffee can lead to digestive chaos, sending acid from the stomach into the throat and causing heartburn . It can be especially bad for people who already suffer from too much stomach acid.

Plus, too much of the stimulant caffeine can lead to seizures, sudden high blood pressure and breathing issues, even in healthy adults.

There’s not a hard limit on how much is too fast, but experts say drinkers should be mindful about when they’re sipping their next cup.

“It’s better to space out coffee consumption rather than drinking cups back-to-back,” nutritionist Nichola Ludlam-Raine told The New York Post , as “it takes 20-45 minutes for caffeine levels to peak in the bloodstream.”

The Cleveland Clinic certainly doesn’t suggest people should chug their hot coffee. However, dentists say people should drink a little faster to protect their teeth.

The multi-state dental company Aspen Dental recommends finishing a cup within 20-30 minutes , for example, instead of sipping over an hour or two.