Food And Drinks To Avoid To Preserve A Whiter Smile

Posted on Posted in Advice

Avoiding certain foodstuffs can help keep your teeth whiter for longer.

Almost all of us would prefer to have whiter teeth than those we have now. Some of us may be considering cosmetic dentistry to improve our smile and we will take a look at those options a little later on. Stained and discoloured teeth largely occur in two ways; surface staining, often caused by what we eat and drink, and internal discolouration, largely caused by the ageing process.

Let us first of all take a look then, at some of the more common foods and drinks that we might buy that can affect the colour of our teeth. Naturally, we aren’t suggesting that you avoid them altogether as that may be impractical, but reducing your consumption can certainly help and may also help to delay the need for teeth whitening treatment at SG Dental and Implant Centre.

Foods

Dark berries and beetroot – It isn’t hard to imagine how the dark colours of these products can affect our teeth. Anyone who has handled them will know how difficult it is to get the stains off our fingers.

Tomato, curry and soy sauces – These are all well known staining ingredients and while their occasional use can provide enjoyment, an over reliance of these products in your diet could cause your teeth to prematurely discolour.

Dark chocolate – The high cocoa content of this type of chocolate makes it more likely to affect the colour of your teeth. As most chocolate is also high in sugar, it is generally best to avoid eating too much of this product, not only to retain whiter teeth but to help avoid tooth decay as well.

Drinks

Wine – Although red wine is one of the more notorious drinks for staining the teeth, even white wine can do the same. The high acidity levels in these wines can cause some enamel erosion which makes staining more likely than on smoother and healthy tooth enamel.

Tea and coffee – Coffee is well known for staining teeth, as is tea. In the latter case, it is the tannin in the tea which is the main cause of the staining. You only have to look at the build up of staining in a mug that is regularly used for tea to see what it can do to your teeth.

Fruit and energy drinks – If we could eliminate these from our diet altogether, both the colour of our teeth and their health would both almost certainly improve. Some of these drinks contain juices and colourings that can stain the teeth, but perhaps more importantly, many are high in acidity and can cause enamel erosion, especially given their popularity. Avoiding these and replacing them with water as much as possible will greatly increase your chances of maintaining whiter teeth.

Solutions for stained teeth in Burton

You might say that this is all very well but that your teeth are already stained. Even if this is the case, it is still beneficial not to make them worse. If you want to address the problem with the help of the cosmetic team at SG Dental and Implant Centre, we are very happy to help.

There are two main treatments that we use for this. The first is the popular teeth whitening procedure. For this, we provide a whitening gel and a set of ‘trays’ in which the gel is placed before being fitted over your teeth. The trays are custom made to fit comfortably and you repeat this for a few hours each day in your home. After a couple of weeks, the colour of your teeth will be significantly improved. This works not only on surface staining but also discolouration of the inner part of the tooth that naturally occurs as we become older.

The other option is to have dental veneers fitted to the front of your teeth. This is a more detailed procedure but produces excellent results for our Burton dental patients whose teeth are more badly stained or who have other small damage such as chips that detract from their appearance.

If you are unhappy with the colour of your teeth, your first step should be to contact us to have an assessment so that we can decide the best approach for you. Whichever treatment you have, we are sure that you will be delighted with the results. For more information or to book an initial consultation with us, please call us on 01283 845345. We look forward to helping you achieve a more attractive smile!