Teeth whitening is a great way to make your smile look youthful, healthy, and invested in. Not only can Blossom Dental Care offer teeth whitening but we can also provider air polishing for a natural and clean shine. Your results and their longevity, however, are what you as a patient choose to make of them. Teeth whitening can only remain effective and long-lasting if your look after your teeth, and that can concern avoiding certain foods and drinks.

How staining works

You could experience different types of staining, but extrinsic staining is the one we can actively battle. Extrinsic discolouration occurs when the enamel, which is the protective outer layer of the tooth, becomes superficially stained. This can happen through what we eat and drinks sticking to the surfaces of our teeth and leaving their permanent mark on our smile.

Avoiding staining in our diet

Acidic citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes can develop staining that will taint your teeth whitening results. We think of these fruits and juices as healthy, which they can be for our body, but their high acid concentration can have detrimental effects on our teeth’s whiteness. They erode the tooth enamel, revealing the dentin beneath and resulting in smiles that are seemingly tinged with a dull yellow.

Red and white wine have the same effect on our teeth, unfortunately. Red wine can dampen our teeth whitening results because it contains tannin, a brownish substance found in fruit skins. This gives the wine its colour and heady flavour, but it’s richness of colour isn’t kind to our teeth’s shine. Red wine also dries the mouth, which further encourages the pigment to latch onto the surfaces of our teeth. White wine, on the other hand, has the highest acidic concentration of the two. This means it can wear away at our enamel just like orange juice does, revealing the yellow dentin beneath.

Tea and coffee, most of our first thoughts in the morning, can be detrimental to your teeth whitening results. Tea contains tannins similar to red wine, so the stronger you have your tea the more concentrated the tannins present are. Cut back on your caffeinated beverages, and you could save your whiteness. Coffee too is highly pigmented and can latch onto our protective enamel, so either add extra milk or try to cut back on your drinking.

Curry, listed as one of the nation’s favourite foods, is extremely bad for teeth whitening results. The spices that give the curry its flavour and beautiful colouring aren’t so forgiving to our teeth. The rich yellows and reds can prove tough stains to remove from your teeth, especially if they are artificially pigmented.

Maintain teeth whitening results

The best way to maintain your results is through a combination of regular and attentive cleaning habits and cutting back on these guilty pleasures. Your teeth whitening results can be amazing after treatment, but their maintenance is entirely up to you. If you can’t give up the caffeinated drinks yet or enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, then try to drink these drinks quickly. The more you sip and savour, the more time and frequency you introduce staining elements to your teeth. It’s better for your teeth to have a concentrated all-at-once exposure to these components rather than continual top-ups of potential staining. This is the same rule for snacking on other staining or acidic elements like citrus fruits or sweets. After you’ve had a cup of coffee or drank some orange juice, try and have a little glass of water or rinse your mouth around with one. This will get rid of any residue from the drinks and lessen your exposure to their acids and pigments. It could save you a world of staining bother!

Your smile could be boosted by up to 12 shades when you have your first teeth whitening appointment at our York dental practice! We can achieve amazing results for you, including providing you with at-home top-up kits, but your results’ maintenance is down to you.

Considering teeth whitening? Book your initial consultation today!