When you look your best, you feel your best, and that all starts with a vibrant smile! Many people feel insecure about their teeth yellowing, especially as they grow older. The friendly associates at Little Rock Family Dental have compiled a list of tips to help you naturally maintain a whiter smile. If you would like a more significant solution to your yellowing problems, contact us for teeth whitening services!
Tips to Maintain a Whiter Smile
Limit (or try to avoid entirely) these foods and drinks that yellow your teeth:
- Cigarettes
- Coffee
- Other dark-pigmented food and drinks like wine, tea, and certain berries
- Processed food
- Drinks high in acid like soda and energy drinks
- Citrusy food like lemons
Use a straw
Maybe you can’t function without coffee in the morning or need that caffeine kick midday. Perhaps you enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day. However, just because these drinks can stain your teeth does not mean you can’t enjoy them. Drinking out of a straw can help reduce the liquid’s contact with your teeth, thereby causing less discoloration. Though you may feel a bit silly sometimes while doing it, it will be worth it when your smile shines above the rest!
Brush twice a day and don’t forget to scrape your tongue
Healthy pink gums are the backdrop for a gorgeous smile, and one way to keep your gums and overall mouth healthy is by remembering to brush at least twice a day. We suggest choosing a whitening toothpaste and brushing in circles for two minutes at a time.
And don’t forget the tongue! Bacteria can build up on the back of it and spread onto teeth, causing discoloration. With long strokes, start at the back of the tongue and scrape the bristles or other tongue scraping tool forward, making sure to clean your toothbrush after each time.
Replace your toothbrush
The shelf-life of your toothbrush should only be about three months. If you neglect to buy a new brush, you’re helping to transfer bacteria into your mouth. If you see the bristles starting to wear down and become soft and worn, that means it is not cleaning your teeth properly and needs to be replaced.
Swish water right after eating
If you can’t get to a toothbrush after eating, then just swish a gulp of water around your mouth. This will help loosen up any food, drink, and bacteria that may have stuck to your teeth, preventing them from staining. Thirty seconds of thoroughly swishing around your mouth will do the trick!
Eat raw fruits and vegetables
You know that eating fruits and veggies is good for your body, but did you also know it’s good for your teeth? Chewing on a crunchy snack helps you produce more saliva, which washes away bacteria. We suggest eating green veggies such as broccoli or kale which have minerals in it that help protect your teeth. Also, apples are known as nature’s companion to teeth!
Contact us!
If you follow these tips, you are sure to stave off yellowing for as long as possible. Unfortunately though, sometimes it is inevitable. If you begin to notice your smile is not as bright as you would like it to be, contact Little Rock Family Dental for teeth whitening or dental veneers and bonding!