Let's examine why we pair up wine and cheese together and how this may affect our teeth!

The tradition of enjoying different cheeses for dessert, or in combination with drinking wine, might have a beneficial effect on preventing dental erosion since cheeses contain calcium in a high concentration.

This helps neutralize and boost the remineralizing power of saliva to halt the acid attack.

Eating strawberries while sipping on your wine or mixing sparkling whites with fruit juice to make a 'fizz' may spell trouble because this only adds to the acid attack.

Professor Samien Walmsley, of the British Dental Association, said: "The ability of acidic foods and drinks to erode tooth enamel is well understood, and white wine is recognized as being more erosive than red."

But it's the way you consume it that is all important. If you are going to have a glass of wine, do so with your meal and leave a break for at least 30 minutes afterwards before you brush your teeth.

Consuming wine alongside food, rather than on its own, means the saliva you produce as you chew, helps to neutralize its acidity and limits its erosive potential.

Leaving time before brushing teeth gives the enamel a chance to recover from the acid attack and makes it less susceptible to being brushed away.