Have you recently noticed that your once white teeth are starting to look yellow and dull? While certain medications and the natural aging process can play a role in this change, it’s often due to your diet. Luckily, you can turn that around, and it all starts with learning about how foods and drinks stain your teeth!
An Inside Look at How Foods and Drinks Stain Your Teeth
To learn how to prevent dental discoloration, you need to learn the cause. While your enamel looks smooth, it’s actually porous. As a result, the tannins in stain-causing products can cause your teeth to take on a yellowish tint. If continued, habits like drinking coffee without a straw can result in severe, and sometimes permanent, discoloration.
8 Teeth-Staining Foods and Drinks to Steer Clear of
If dental discoloration is a concern of yours, then it’s a good idea to stick to mostly light-colored foods. A few examples include yogurt, white cheese, and oatmeal. Of course, your daily diet will need more variety to ensure you get all of the vitamins and nutrients you need. Therefore, a general best practice is just to keep your consumption of tannin-rich foods and drinks to a minimum, including:
- Coffee
- Curry
- Red wine
- Soy sauce
- Soda
- Berries
- Tomato sauce
- Balsamic vinegar
4 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth White
Naturally, limiting your consumption of the previously mentioned foods and beverages is priority number one. However, there are a few other things you can do to help keep your teeth nice and white:
- Talk to your dentist about professional teeth whitening – With teeth whitening, your dentist can remove stubborn stains in as little as one hour. Plus, each treatment is 100% personalized to you, minimizing your chances of tooth sensitivity.
- Brush after each meal – While brushing your teeth each morning and evening is essential, brushing your teeth after lunch is a good habit to get into as well to keep your teeth free of food particles and plaque.
- Use a straw – If your morning cup of coffee or evening glass of wine is an essential part of your day, don’t worry – you don’t have to give it up. Instead, just use a straw to help protect your teeth.
- Get a dental cleaning every six months – Brushing and flossing regularly is crucial, but only your dental team can remove caked-on plaque and tartar. Plus, they finish off these biannual visits with a thorough polish, which helps keep your teeth looking bright and beautiful.
Yellow teeth can take a serious toll on your self-confidence, making smiling confidently feel near impossible. The good news is that dental discoloration doesn’t have to be a permanent issue. With a professional teeth whitening treatment from your dentist and the right best practices in place, you can have the gorgeous smile you’ve been missing again!
About the Practice
University Dental Group is comprised of a team of dental professionals who are passionate about providing patients with healthy and beautiful smiles. That’s why we provide a wide range of cosmetic treatments, including teeth whitening. With safe, reliable, and powerful bleaching gels, we can blast away stubborn stains in no time at all. If you have a question about dental discoloration or would like to schedule an appointment, don’t hesitate to visit our website or call (508) 960-6495.