Having a healthy and attractive smile starts by maintaining your pearly whites. After all, it’s easy to feel self-conscious about flashing your smile if you have yellowed and stained teeth. While you can always get teeth whitening treatment, the key to maintaining your bright smile lies behind aftercare. What you eat or drink or how you care for your teeth after whitening can impact how your whitening results will last. So today, we’ll share a few tips and tricks to help maintain your pearly whites for years—or even decades.
1. Follow a healthy dental hygiene routine.
This tip may seem obvious, but taking good care of your teeth will help keep them healthy and white. Make sure to brush twice a day to scrub away stains and ensure the rest of your mouth is healthy. Also, don’t forget to floss to reduce the likelihood of tooth decay.
2. Avoid drinks that stain your teeth.
Red wine, coffee and tea have staining effects on your teeth. They may be some of the most common drinks around, but they don’t do you any favours in the white teeth department. So if you want to maintain your pearly whites, it’s best to avoid these three drinks altogether. But if you do indulge, make sure to brush your teeth after to prevent dental stains from setting.
3. Include water-dense fruits & vegetables in your diet.
Snacking on water-dense fruits and vegetables like apples or celery can trigger saliva production, boosting your mouth’s natural way of washing away bacteria. Doing so doesn’t only prevent tooth stains, but it also keeps your gums and the rest of your mouth healthy. So if you have not been eating fruits and veggies daily, it’s time to include them in your diet.
4. Quit smoking and maintain your pearly whites.
If you’re looking for another reason to quit smoking, it’s the nicotine’s tooth staining effect. Smoking will yellow and stain your teeth over time. The enamel of your teeth is porous, and nicotine gets easily trapped in it. While nicotine is colourless, it turns brown or yellow when exposed to oxygen over time. How about smokeless tobacco? That can still stain your teeth, as it also contains nicotine. You may find it hard to quit smoking right away, so try cutting down the number of cigarettes you have in a day first. And after smoking, make it a habit to brush and floss your teeth immediately to prevent nicotine from setting on your teeth.
5. Use an at-home teeth whitener.
Have you noticed that your previous whitening results faded, but you don’t have the time and resources to get another in-chair treatment anytime soon? Use an at-home teeth whitener instead. Teeth whitening trays for home use, for instance, are safe and effective, as long as you acquire them from reputable companies. Be wary of some products with ingredients that can be harsh on your gums and enamel. Talk to your dentist to get some advice about this.
6. Visit your dentist regularly.
Taking good care of your teeth doesn’t stop at daily hygiene or home teeth whitening. You also need to visit your dentist. Certain oral problems such as thin tooth enamel can make your teeth look yellow even if you’re not a smoker or a coffee or tea drinker. So it’s best to go to your routine dental checkups to address such dental problems early.
Moreover, don’t forget to have your teeth professionally cleaned regularly to remove plaque and other substances stuck in your mouth. Doing so will also help you see your tooth’s natural state better and decide whether you truly need cosmetic teeth whitening.
