A beautiful face but an ugly smile can ruin your overall attraction. Yellow stained teeth aren’t pleasing at all. To restore the brightness and whiteness of your teeth all you need to do is make some changes into your diet and lifestyle and this article will help you on how to do so.
DIY Teeth Whitening
A few over the surface stains can be removed at home using a wide range of products. These include kits, rinses, strips and toothpastes. These products use mild bleach to recover the whiteness of yellow discolored teeth. Also abrasives and chemicals are mixed into them to remove stains on the surface of the teeth. Moreover, there are a few home remedies one must opt for before buying different products.
Whitening Toothpastes and Rinses
There are toothpastes and rinses available in your nearby drug store that are specifically manufactured for whitening of stained teeth. These products contain mild abrasives, chemicals, or polishing agents, that restore the natural color of the teeth unlike bleaches.
Home Remedies for Whiter Teeth
Even in this era of development, there are many people out there who still prefer taking baking powder onto a brush and rubbing it onto their teeth. This home remedy, used since many years, is known to whiten teeth.
To wash away the food debris deposited onto your teeth all you need to do is eat apples, carrots, celery, and pears. These are food that encourage production of saliva, which washes away food debris onto your teeth and neutralizes the acid that causes tooth decay. Chewing gum also helps in the production of saliva and a sugarless one acts as a cleanser for the teeth.
Teeth Whitening Followed by Dental Work
If you have lots of bonding, bridges, crowns, dental veneers or fillings then you should be very careful when going for teeth whitening. This is because bleach does not whiten up these affected teeth and as a result they stand out among the whitened ones. In order to make them match you might need to examine new dental work, including bonding and veneers.
Preventing Teeth from Getting Stained
As you grow older, the outer layer of tooth enamel wears away and the underlying layer known as dentin is yellower in color. Therefore it is crucial that one must avoid teeth staining in the first place, particularly after teeth whitening. If proper diet is consumed then whitening affects may last for a year. It is important as too often whitening of teeth makes them look translucent and blue.
Give Up Smoking for Whiter Teeth
You might have heard smoking is injurious to health but it also equally harmful for the teeth. Tobacco in cigarettes causes brown stains onto the teeth that get into the grooves and pits of tooth enamel. These stains are harder to remove by brushing alone. The longer you smoke the more engrained the stains become. Moreover, smoking leads to bad breath, gingivitis and increases the chances of most types of cancer.
Avoid Foods that Cause Yellow Teeth
For healthy teeth and gums you need to watch out your food intake. There are a few foods that can ruin your smile and lead to yellow teeth. But how does one know which foods are those? There is a simple way to test foods for this purpose. Dentists says any food that might stain a white cotton T-shirt will stain the teeth.
Foods that have been found to discolor teeth include:
- Beets
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
Drinks that discolor teeth include:
- Coffee
- Dark sodas
- Fruit juices
- Sports drinks
- Tea
- Wine
Sports drinks are the most harmful among all of these drinks as their long-term usage cause tooth enamel leading to thin, translucent, discolored teeth.
The stains from these foods and drinks develop slowly and become more prominent as your grow older. So always remember to rinse your mouth and brush your teeth after having these foods.
Avoid Medications that Discolor Teeth
Here is a list of few medications that cause discoloration of teeth:
- Antibiotic tetracycline is harmful for children whose teeth are developing as it leads to gray teeth.
- Antibacterial mouthwashes that contain chlorhexidine or cetylpyridinium chloride can result in discolored teeth
- A few antihistamines, antipsychotic drugs, and blood pressure medicines cause tooth stains
If the tooth stains do not go away from bleaching then one must go for dental bonding, during which colored substance is applied to the teeth.
Daily Maintenance is Very Important
Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is very important for a bright and white smile. It is better to brush after every meal and snack, as it prevents stains, particularly at the gum line. Moreover, flossing daily is equally important for stain free teeth.
Visit Your Dentist Regularly
Regularly getting your teeth abraded and polished by a dentist can help remove food and drink stains that are difficult to remove with a normal toothbrush.