How to Prevent Teeth Stains After Whitening

How to Prevent Teeth Stains After Whitening

You want your teeth to look at bright as the day you whitened them. To keep your smile sparkling, check out this ultimate guide on how to prevent teeth stains.

Have you used Crest Whitening Strips to help whiten your teeth?

If so, you may be wondering about the ways you can keep your teeth looking the same way they did when you first whitened them!

The good news is that by being careful with what you eat and drink, and how you take care of your teeth, you can preserve the white teeth you want.

Read on to learn more about how to prevent teeth stains!

Drink Water Between Beverages

One of the leading ways to stain your teeth is by drinking coffee, sodas and other dark beverages.

After teeth whitening you aren’t expected to cut these things out of your diet altogether. But drinking them regularly in large amounts can contribute to staining your pearly whites!

One way to guard against this concern is to drink water between beverages that are known to stain your teeth. These include coffee, sodas, wine and dark-colored juices, among others.

When you have water after these drinks, this allows you to rinse off those liquids. You might even find yourself choosing water instead of these beverages over time!

Use Straws

Another way how to prevent teeth stains is to get in the habit of using straws.

Certain beverages will be harder to do this with than others. For example, it’s unlikely you will want to use a straw for your coffee or your wine. But for other drinks like soda, tea and juices, you should use straws.

Tea is often looked past when it comes to staining teeth, but it is arguably one of the hardest beverages on your teeth according to dental professionals.

“Tea causes teeth to stain much worse than coffee,” says Mark S. Wolff, DDS, Ph.D., a professor at New York University’s College of Dentistry, according to WebMD.com. “Iced tea or brewed tea — it doesn’t matter.”

By using a straw, you limit the contact with your teeth from beverages that you drink. This minimised exposure can help you prevent stains caused by the continued enjoyment of these beverages over the course of time.

Chew Sugar-Free Gum

Chewing sugar-free gum is a great way how to prevent teeth stains.

When you chew gum, it helps stimulate the production of saliva. This helps you balance the acids in your mouth. The gum can also pick up small pieces of food that may linger in your teeth after eating.

Besides neutralising these acids, chewing sugar-free gum keeps you from subjecting your teeth to more sugar and can save money!

According to a 2016 study, if all the 12-year-old’s in the UK chewed sugar-free gum after drinking and eating, the National Health Service could save £8.2 million per year!

But you don’t have to be a pre-teen to enjoy the benefits of chewing sugar-free gum. People of all ages can help keep their teeth whiter by taking advantage of it too!

Brush and Floss Regularly

Brushing and flossing regularly is one how to prevent teeth stains, whether or not you have whitened your teeth.

Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day for about two minutes to help keep your teeth and mouth healthy. Also, brush your teeth last thing at night and at least one other time during the day, although your dentist may recommend something else for you.

Some people choose to brush their teeth after eating foods with red sauce or drinking coffee, as an extra measure to ensure they are keeping their teeth white.

As an alternative to brushing your teeth in the middle of the day, you may choose to rinse your mouth out with a fluoride mouthwash. But remember not to eat or drink for at least 30 minutes after doing this.

When it comes to flossing, the NHS recommends you do so once daily after the age of 12. One of the ways this helps you to prevent stains on your teeth is by removing food that may be stuck in your teeth.

Brush Gently

Brushing your teeth regularly is important, but so is how hard you do it.

One of the ways how to prevent teeth stains is to gently brush your teeth twice a day, or as directed by a dental professional.

Why should you do it gently?

If you brush hard on the surface of your teeth, you can damage your enamel. This is the outermost layer of your teeth and the part that is seen by you and others when you smile.

You should also brush your teeth in a way that helps clean them most effectively.

“Brush gently with a simple horizontal scrubbing motion, with the brush at a forty-five-degree angle to get to the dental plaque,” said Aubrey Sheiham, an Emeritus Professor of Dental Public Health at UCL Epidemiology & Public Health. “To avoid brushing too hard, hold the brush with a pencil grip rather than a fist. This simple method is perfectly effective at keeping your gums healthy.”

Don’t Use Tobacco

One way how to prevent teeth stains is to refrain from smoking or using chewing tobacco.

Besides being harmful to the health of your heart and other vital organs to your body, tobacco is also bad for your teeth. While keeping your teeth white is one reason not to use tobacco, there’s a long list of the benefits of being tobacco-free.

These include promoting a healthy heart and lower blood pressure, among others.

Minimise Certain Foods

When you are trying to keep your teeth white, you should avoid eating certain foods that can stain your teeth.

For example, tomato sauce, berries and hard candy can be hard on your whitened teeth. Tomatoes are acidic and have a red color that tends to stick to the surface of your teeth. The dark colors in berries are also prone to staining teeth too.

Replace Your Toothbrush

In order to make the most of brushing your teeth, you need to be sure that you replace your toothbrush regularly too.

When it comes to toothbrushes, replacing them regularly means doing so every few months.

There are a couple of good reasons for this recommendation.

If the bristles of your toothbrush are worn out, they won’t clean your teeth properly. The bristles are also a breeding ground for bacteria. This means that if you have fought off a cold or other illness, you should replace your toothbrush immediately.

Visit Your Dentist Regularly

You should visit your dentist regularly for check-ups.

When you see your dentist, they can look at your teeth and help you further with how to prevent teeth stains.

Your dentist will also likely recommend that you clean your teeth regularly, at least twice per year. This helps keep your teeth cleaning on a schedule and minimises the plaque build-up on them.

Even after you have whitened your teeth, polishing your teeth this way helps to limit stains and keep your teeth shiny! Having your teeth cleaned is also a great way to promote your overall health too.

Final Word on How to Prevent Teeth Stains

When it comes to how to prevent teeth stains, you need to be disciplined and proactive with how you care for your teeth. After all, you want to preserve their white colour you’ve gotten by using Crest Whitening Strips.

To keep your teeth white and stain-free, you should be sure you do not smoke or use any smokeless tobacco products. These are dangerous for your health and your teeth.

You should drink coffee, sodas and teas in moderation. And when you do, you should try to drink them through a straw. It’s also smart to rinse your teeth with water after you have finished drinking these beverages.

Avoid eating foods that have dark colours — things like tomato sauce, berries or hard candies, among others. Tomato sauce is highly acidic, while the deep, dark colours in berries and some hard candies can cause problems for your teeth too.

But how to prevent teeth stains is not just a matter of what you eat and drink.

Regular brushing and flossing is an important part of keeping your teeth stain-free.This will keep your teeth clean because it helps eliminate plaque build-up on your teeth and around your mouth.

Keeping Your Teeth Whitened

To preserve the look of your white teeth takes some effort but it can be done. You might also find you are living a healthier lifestyle because of it too!

Looking to whiten your teeth or re-order more whitening strips? Contact us today to learn more about the Crest Whitening Strips we offer!

Whether you want to brighten your smile or keep it that way, we here to help you towards that goal.

Do you have other ways that you prevent stains on your teeth? Comment below to share your experience and how you have kept your teeth white!