The first thing people often notice about you is your teeth and smile. A person with bright, beautiful teeth is considered youthful and attractive. However, an elegant smile can sometimes be affected by discolored teeth, resulting in adverse effects on your self-esteem and confidence. While there are many causes of teeth discoloration, maintaining your radiant smile does not require complicated and expensive dental procedures. Discussed below are different techniques to keep your teeth healthy and white. 

Using a Straw

Using a straw can significantly prevent stains from foods and drinks, as it does the following:

  • Bypasses direct contact — When sipping directly from a bottle or cup, the drink comes into contact with your frontal teeth, increasing the potential risk of staining. However, using a straw lets the liquid bypass your front teeth, minimizing their exposure to staining elements.
  • Reducing surface contact between your teeth and staining agents
  • Promotes hydration — Using a straw could encourage you to drink more water. Water washes away food debris and bacteria.

Using a Tooth-Whitening Toothpaste

Whitening toothpaste is designed to brighten your smile. The toothpaste contains ingredients that eliminate more surface stains than conventional non-whitening toothpaste.

Choosing the Right Whitening Toothpaste for You

Like any proper toothpaste, many whitening blends have fluoride as the active ingredient. Mechanical abrasives, like charcoal, hydrated silica, and baking soda, scrub away stains, resulting in the brightening effect.

Other whitening agents found in whitening toothpaste can include the following:

  • Bleaching agents like hydrogen and carbamide peroxide
  • Surfactants, which are surface-active agents
  • Colorants or dyes that improve the brightness of your teeth
  • Antiredeposition agents that prevent teeth discoloration following whitening treatment.

Some ingredients, like hydrogen peroxide, may be too harsh for sensitive teeth. Therefore, settle for options that include fluoride and potassium nitrate, which are more gentle on teeth and gums.

How to Benefit Most from Whitening Toothpaste

Once you start using a whitening toothpaste, it could take several weeks to notice changes in your smile. To maintain your desired tooth appearance, avoid drinking or eating items that originally caused staining and eating beverages and drinks that initially led to teeth staining. Whenever you take them, you undo your newly found results.

Quit Smoking

Chemicals in cigars, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco products cause teeth discoloration. Tar and nicotine are two primary ingredients that cause the staining.

Tobacco staining can also indirectly cause the enamel to wear out over time, exposing the dentin, which is more yellow. As the dentin begins to show, the teeth will look increasingly yellow.

Steps that Can Help You Quit Smoking

Here are tips to help you quit smoking:

  • Develop willpower and begin with a strong mindset — Cultivating a motivated mental attitude before attempting to quit helps increase your chances of success. Outline what drives you to quit, including saving money or enhancing your dental health.
  • Set a deadline — Setting a specific date, including a week or month, can help you be decisive when quitting smoking. Setting a deadline enables you to build motivation to overcome bad habits and develop better replacements for tobacco.
  • Create a reward system — Outline new things you desire to do or purchase for yourself as a reward for attaining each quitting benchmark.
  • Have a support team —  You should surround yourself with individuals who will support you to quit smoking and remain motivated as you stave off cravings, especially during the initial weeks.
  • Understand your triggers and look for alternatives — Knowing what triggers your cravings will assist you in combating the urge to smoke by trying healthier substitutions. For instance, if you experience nicotine cravings, you can respond by catching additional sleep or discussing with friends and family what is bothering you instead of relapsing.

Tooth Discoloration Treatment Options

When you visit your dentist, they will examine your dental health and recommend the best treatment option depending on your oral health, preferences, and needs. Some of the treatments to keep your to keep your teeth white and healthy include:

Professional Teeth Whitening

Your dentist can recommend professional whitening for extrinsic stains. The treatment involves the dentist applying a bleaching agent. The procedure takes an hour, and the results can be noticeable immediately.

In-office whitening provides the advantage of controlled bleaching agent application, minimizing the risk of tooth sensitivity.

Dental professionals also offer custom trays for at-home use. These trays ensure even application of the whitening gel, which you should wear for a specific interval every day.

To benefit the most from the treatment, you should adhere to your after-treatment care guidelines.

Using Veneers

Veneers provide a cosmetic option for patients with severe teeth staining. Veneers are small shells composed of composite resin or porcelain. Dental professionals bond these veneers to the surfaces of your front teeth.

The veneers procedure requires several dental appointments. The dental practitioner prepares your teeth by extracting a tiny portion of enamel. Next, they will take your teeth's impressions to design custom veneers in a lab. Once the lab technician has created your veneers, they will send them to your dentist’s office, where the dental professional will bond them to your teeth with a special adhesive.

Veneers can last 10 to 15 years with proper care, but they may eventually need replacement.

Dental Bonding

Dental bonding is another cosmetic option for addressing teeth discoloration that involves the application of tooth-colored composite resin to your teeth. The dental professional applies the mold and then hardens the material using a special curing light.

The bonding procedure is minimally invasive and more cost-effective compared to veneers. Nevertheless, veneers may outlast bonding and are more susceptible to staining or chipping. Routine appointments and effective dental hygiene practices could help you maintain your bonded teeth, keeping your teeth white and healthy.

Foods and Drinks that Keep Your Teeth White and Healthy

You are what you eat; since your teeth and gums reflect your overall health and oral health, what you eat or drink influences how healthy and beautiful your smile is. On the contrary, drinking wine or smoking can result in teeth discoloration.

Below are foods and beverages that brighten the teeth, protect them from bacteria, and clean them.

  • Dairy products like cheese, yogurt, and milk strengthen your teeth with calcium. They also increase the mouth’s pH level, reducing the chances of developing cavities and staining. The probiotic bacteria in yogurt overpower the harmful bacteria in your mouth.
  • Crunchy foods — They work like a natural abrasive scrub that cleans your teeth as you chew, protecting you against cavities and stimulating saliva production.
  • Pineapple — Your teeth are covered by pellicle (a layer of salivary proteins). While it safeguards the teeth, it also absorbs food pigments, resulting in discoloration. The pellicle also allows bacteria to stick to your teeth and can lead to plaque accumulation and teeth staining. Nevertheless, pineapples have a proteolytic enzyme called bromelain that naturally breaks down proteins, including those in the pellicle.
  • Papaya — Papaya contains enzymes that break down the protein in the pellicle layer, helping reduce stains, reducing stains and preventing plaque formation.
  • Watermelon contains malic acid, which promotes saliva production to help whiten teeth and wash away food particles.
  • Water — Water keeps you hydrated and prevents stain formation on the teeth. Ensure you swish water in your mouth after drinking or eating pigment-rich beverages or foods to keep your teeth and smile healthy and bright. Water also reduces the acidity in the mouth, lowering the likelihood of damaging your enamel. Limit consumption of sparkling water, especially flavored types, as they can contribute to enamel erosion over time.

Keeping the following foods and beverages on your menu means you are permitting them to gradually stain your teeth over time.

  • Coffee — Coffee has tannins or acidic polyphenols that cause tooth discoloration. It is also acidic and changes the mouth’s pH, resulting in tooth damage more rapidly when you eat or drink something acidic immediately after drinking coffee.
  • Citrus foods — While citric foods contain essential nutrients they can erode your enamel and expose the dentin.
  • Dark dressings — Dark dressings like balsamic vinegar or soy sauce could leave a purplish hue on the teeth. Consider using lighter dressings like rice vinegar or olive oil for a healthy alternative that keeps your teeth pearly white.
  • Soda — Soda contains sugar that bacteria in your mouth feed on, increasing the release of damaging acids.
  • Tea
  • Sweets
  • Wine

Visiting Your Dentist Regularly

Regular dental visits are essential for preventing and managing tooth discoloration.

Personalized Advice

During your visit, your skilled dentists can assess your teeth and the surrounding tissues to identify the cause of teeth discoloration. That way, they can make the following recommendations:

  • Specific products like mouthwashes and toothpastes based on your oral health and preferences
  • Oral hygiene practices like flossing and brushing
  • Lifestyle and dietary recommendations

Professional Dental Cleanings

During your visit, your dentist will perform a professional cleaning where they gently and skillfully remove tartar and plaque accumulation from the teeth using specialized equipment to scrape away stubborn deposits that flossing and brushing might have missed.

Please note that while dental cleanings do not bleach teeth, they remove surface stains and tartar, improving overall brightness. The cleaning focuses on removing surface stains, tartar, and plaque, which could improve the appearance of your teeth and smile. Nevertheless, your dentist might recommend additional teeth whitening treatment if you want whiter teeth and a smile.

Keeping your teeth healthy and white is a continuous process, and regular cleaning is paramount to the journey. Regular professional cleanings prevent stains on the teeth. In other words, although dental cleanings do not directly whiten the teeth, they contribute significantly to the longevity and maintenance of healthy and white teeth.

Brushing Your Teeth Twice a Day

Dentists classify tooth discoloration into two types: extrinsic and intrinsic stains. Extrinsic stains happen on your tooth’s surface due to tobacco or highly pigmented drinks and foods exposure. On the contrary, intrinsic stains occur in the tooth (within the dentin or enamel) and can be due to risk factors like genetic disorders and aging.

Removing intrinsic stains requires using bleaching agents like hydrogen peroxide. Conversely, you can remove extrinsic stains via mechanical attempts like tooth brushing.

While the enamel is smooth and shiny, it has small pores that are invisible to the naked eye. Color pigments from tobacco smoke, colored beverages, or foods can embed in your enamel’s pores, leading to discoloration and staining. Nevertheless, brushing twice a day scrubs away the pigments.

Stains can also originate from plaque that clings to color pigments and takes on their hue. Brushing keeps plaque at bay, maintaining healthy, pearly white teeth.

You should use the proper techniques and tools to achieve optimal results from brushing. Ensure your toothbrush is soft-bristled to gently clean your teeth without damaging the gums or enamel. The toothbrush should also be tiny enough to reach every tooth with ease. Finally, replace your toothbrush every three to four months. Consider purchasing a new toothbrush if any of the following apply:

  • You have been ill, especially if you store the toothbrush close to other toothbrushes
  • Your toothbrush’s bristles are frayed; frayed bristles do not clean teeth thoroughly.

Remineralize Your Teeth

Enamel is the outer protective layer comprising phosphate and calcium, protecting your teeth from damage and cavities and keeping them strong.

Demineralization is the process of losing minerals in enamel, which could be due to drinking and eating sugary or acidic drinks and foods. Once these minerals are lost, your enamel weakens, exposing the dentin. Dentin is dark in color; teeth whitening treatment is less likely to succeed in changing its color.

Nonetheless, you can stop the demineralization process, replenish vital minerals, and strengthen the enamel by taking specific steps before further damage happens; tooth enamel erosion is irreversible. The process is known as remineralization.

Some of these ways are as follows:

  • Dietary changes — A diet that supports remineralization should include foods rich in calcium, phosphate, and vitamin D. You should also limit your intake of acidic and sugary drinks and foods.
  • Use hydroxyapatite toothpaste — It is a biomimetic mineral that resembles the natural enamel composition.
  • Fluoride application — It promotes phosphate and calcium absorption into the enamel. You can find it in toothpaste, mouth rinses, professional treatment offered by a dentist, and fluoridated drinking water.

Teeth Whitening and Remineralization

You can integrate teeth whitening and remineralization to enhance the appearance and health of your teeth. Here is how:

  • Ensure you focus on remineralization, mainly if your enamel is weak or you experience tooth sensitivity. Strengthening your enamel first could lower the chances of experiencing discomfort during teeth whitening treatment.
  • After undergoing the teeth whitening treatment, remineralize to strengthen your enamel, especially if the whitening agents led to sensitivity or mild erosion.

Your dentist should review your enamel to determine the best treatment combination and time to maximize benefits and reduce risks.

Using Whitening Strips

Teeth whitening strips are a dental product that removes external and internal stains from teeth and whitens them. Nonetheless, they do not work on fake teeth.

Although they are not as effective as treatments performed by your dentist, they are a cheaper and simpler alternative. At-home whitening strips have lower concentrations of whitening ingredients than your dentist-provided products. Patients with heavily stained teeth might not realize their desired results with over-the-counter whitening strips.

The effectiveness of your whitening strips also depends on the chemicals’ strength and the duration you keep them on your teeth. 

The strip has chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide, and according to the American Dental Association, they are effective and safe, provided they have the ADA Seal of Acceptance. Other things to consider when purchasing your whitening strip are customer reviews and ingredients.

How to Use

You should read all the product’s instructions and packaging details before using your whitening strips.

Patients typically apply the strips to the teeth. Manufacturers might recommend avoiding toothbrushing before applying the strip. You should leave the strip on your teeth for the recommended duration. While the recommended duration varies from product to product, most people leave the strip on for thirty minutes.

Additionally, manufacturers recommend the frequency of use. A typical recommendation is applying the whitening strip twice daily for two weeks.

Advantages and Disadvantages

While using whitening strips is an affordable, easy-to-use, and effective solution, it has the following downsides:

  • It can lead to side effects like gum irritation and tooth sensitivity
  • Since the whitening strips use bleaching agents, overusing them could damage your teeth
  • Results vary depending on product strength and duration of use; heavily stained teeth may require multiple applications
  • A whitening session can take about 30 minutes, therefore requiring patience and time

Find a Qualified Dentist Near Me

Teeth become yellow due to many reasons, like lifestyle choices, poor diet, aging, and smoking. Fortunately, integrating healthy dietary choices, cosmetic treatment procedures, good lifestyle choices, and proper oral hygiene habits can help you keep your teeth white and healthy.

At Beach Dental Care Anaheim, we are dedicated to assisting our patients in realizing and maintaining good dental health. Please contact us at 714-995-4000 to book your initial consultation, where you will get answers to your questions and concerns or learn more about our cosmetic services.