Everyone knows that the key to a nice smile is a set of bright pearly whites. When your teeth look clean and white, you tend to look better and feel more confident.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of foods and drinks that can tarnish your smile. Coffee, wine, dark sodas, and even some kinds of berries can leave unsightly stains on your teeth, making you feel uncomfortable every time you flash a grin.
So, what can you do about it? Should you stop drinking coffee forever? Don’t worry; our suggestion isn’t that extreme. With good oral hygiene and a few helpful tips, you can get a whiter smile in no time at all.
Here are three of our favorite methods for erasing surface stains on your teeth.
Crunchy Fruits and Veggies
A balanced diet is a very important part of keeping your body healthy. Everyone should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables if they want to have great skin, loads of energy, and a general good feeling all day long. But believe it or not, fruits and veggies also hold a huge benefit for your smile.
When you eat raw, crunchy fruits and vegetables, the food rubs against your teeth. This can help scrub away surface stains! We suggest eating fruits like apples, radishes, celery, kale, and carrots, as these have the greatest scrubbing potential. If you fill your diet with these items, you can prevent stains from developing when you do indulge in a discoloring treat.
Of course, it is important to mention that eating fruits and veggies won’t give you a gleaming smile overnight. However, this is still an effective way to prevent new stains – and the health benefits of a healthy diet make this whitening method more than worth it.
Over-The-Counter Whitening Kits
If you’ve visited the oral care aisle of your grocery store recently, you’ve probably seen an OTC whitening treatment. These include whitening toothpaste, whitening strips, and even whitening mouthwashes. Toothpaste companies use a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide in their formulas to remove surface stains and improve the look of your teeth.
Over-the-counter whitening methods are an effective way to remove stains on your enamel surface. But like our fruits and veggies, they don’t always remove stains that have settled into the enamel over time. However, these products are a good way to prevent new stains from forming, which makes them a good investment.
No matter what whitening product you use, it’s important to keep up a good oral hygiene routine. Brushing and flossing twice a day will always keep your teeth looking their best – the whitening treatment is just a bonus
Professional Whitening Kits
Sometimes, at-home whitening treatments just don’t give you the gleaming white chompers you want. If that’s the case, it’s time to talk to your dentist about professional whitening options. These products use a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide to bleach your teeth and make them ultra-white.
There are two main types of professional whitening kit. One is a take-home version, in which your dentist makes custom trays for your teeth and gives you a whitening gel to use at home. This method can take anywhere from two weeks to four months to show results.
The other option is in-office whitening. During this procedure, the dentist uses a very high concentration of peroxide (usually around 22%) to bleach your teeth in a matter of hours. However, this method can cause tooth sensitivity for some people, so it’s not the best choice for everyone.
If you want to get a whiter, brighter smile, call Valley Dental Care of Plainfield today. We will help you find the best option for your teeth so you can look your very best!