# My teeth's got dry finish, cuz I eats my spinach

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-teeths-got-dry-finish-cuz-i-eats-my-spinach/114957>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 19, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-teeths-got-dry-finish-cuz-i-eats-my-spinach/114957 "2002-06-19T21:03:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-teeths-got-dry-finish-cuz-i-eats-my-spinach/114957/1 "2002-06-19T21:03:50Z")

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So I’m plowing through a big ol’ bowl of raw spinach today (because I think it’s yummy, and if you don’t, that’s your own problem) and afterwards, I notice my teeth are really rough-feeling to the tip of my tongue, rougher than usual. I’ve noticed this many times before, but not when I was so close to a keyboard with a SDMB window already open.

So anyone out there in Doperland know what causes this? It almost feels as if the teeth have been dried out on the surface, but that’s silly, given that they spend all their time in a fairly wet environment.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-teeths-got-dry-finish-cuz-i-eats-my-spinach/114957/2 "2002-06-19T22:06:05Z")

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The consensus seems to be that it’s the oxalic acid in spinach that makes your teeth feel wierd. A couple centuries ago oxalic acid was used as a teeth whitener. Nowadays its better known as the the stuff that makes rhubarb leaves (not very) poisonous.  
[http://www.flynn-produce.com/aboutmar2000.htm](http://www.flynn-produce.com/aboutmar2000.htm)

> [@](#):
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> The iron is bound up with oxalic acid (which by the way, is the same stuff in spinach that makes your teeth feel weird after you eat it) and it can’t be used by the body.

[http://essiac-info.org/herbs2.html](http://essiac-info.org/herbs2.html)

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> The oxalates in rhubarb really makes sense to me since I have eaten rhubarb pie and it makes the same coating spinach does on my teeth. I can find no other references to this anywhere.

[http://www.sydneymarkets.com.au/fandv/rhubarb.htm](http://www.sydneymarkets.com.au/fandv/rhubarb.htm)

> [@](#):
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> oxalic acid, which may make your teeth feel ‘furry’ after eating us.

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**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-teeths-got-dry-finish-cuz-i-eats-my-spinach/114957/3 "2002-06-19T22:33:12Z")

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Well, there ya go. A hole in one. Thanks **Squink**.