It’s done. Your teeth recently underwent a dental whitening procedure, and now you can’t stop smiling in front of the mirror. You already are taking snapshots of yourself to post to Instagram to show off your new pearly whites, and you can’t help but glow every time someone tells you have great you look. Don’t blush — who wouldn’t love compliments like that after a procedure like that?
The last thing on your mind right now is probably how the procedure isn’t permanent, meaning the pearly white hue will inevitably fade. This isn’t meant to be a downer blog post, but rather takes a look at what kind of lifestyle choices will best help you maintain your post-procedure look months down the road!
Watch What You Eat
Eating is the primary source of the wear-and-tear effect on our teeth. Depending on what you’re consuming, staining can inflict yellow upon your teeth faster than you’d like. Remember the golden dental rule of thumb: If it can stain a white tablecloth, it can (and will) stain your teeth. After a procedure, we recommend from staying away from some specific foods in particular that will quickly break down your teeth’s whiteness:
- Berries
- Wine — both red and white
- Coffee
- Black tea
- Fruit juices
- Sodas
- Hard candies
- Gum with sugar
Maintain Whitening with Strips
There are home whitening kits that assist with the maintenance of a whitening procedure. Many use the strips as an alternative to paying for the procedure to be performed by a dentist, but the results are most significant when they are used as a maintenance resource rather than an alternative to the procedure altogether.
Continue Good Oral Hygiene
Whenever we skip brushing our teeth one night or neglect flossing, bacteria accumulate and feed off the sugar left over from our food residuals. As your dentist told you growing up, bad oral hygiene habits are the root of cavities and other dental problems. When cavities form, there’s usually a darkened area on the tooth that signals damage. When you’re teeth are whitened, the darkness particularly stands out.
Use Toothpaste with Baking Soda and Peroxide
Not all toothpastes were created equal. Some assist with tartar buildup, while others assist with whitening and achieving a bright smile. Baking soda is often suggested by dentists to clients who wish to whiten their smiles a little bit because it contains chemicals that assist with cleaning and whitening. This is why baking soda has many bleaching uses, such as cleaning bathtubs and toilets for that sparkling effect!
Making sure you don’t engage in teeth-yellowing activities is pretty critical from the moment you have the procedure finished. Just because you can’t see any impact from having a glass of red wine initially, doesn’t mean the fading isn’t occurring. Get the most value out of having a professional whiten your teeth by taking care of them from the beginning. It’s like dying your hair a new color: if you continue practicing old methods of taking care of it, you will eventually be brought back to your old hair color (or teeth color, in this instance).
Lindsay Bradshaw is a blogger for Lakeway Cosmetic Dentistry in Austin, Texas. She wants to get her teeth whitened by a professional soon, and will use these tips to preserve the color.
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