Teeth whitening is a well-loved cosmetic procedure today. Because it’s high in demand, many dental clinics now offer this procedure. In comparison with home whitening kits, you can do it yourself, professional teeth whitening delivers long-term results. It’s safe, fast, and you’re sure to get your money’s worth.
But, after having gone through a teeth whitening procedure, it’s also very important to take great care of your whiter teeth. You wouldn’t want to destroy your beautiful pearly whites, would you? Among all the care tips and strategies you can apply, the most important relationship is with what you eat. You have to be more careful now to avoid the food and drinks that can discolor and destroy your teeth.
The rule of thumb to apply? If a certain food or beverage can stain your white t-shirt, then, it definitely can stain your white teeth, too. Here’s a brief list of those food and beverages to avoid:
What Food To Avoid
To start with, here’s a list of the top food items you ought to get rid of after your teeth whitening Perth (or wherever you had it) treatment:
1. Acidic Fruits
Fruits are very important to incorporate into your diet for a healthy lifestyle. During these first few days following your procedure, however, you have to be more cautious about your choice of fruits by avoiding acidic ones. These include bananas, apples, citrus fruits, like oranges and lemons, grapes, and cranberries.
Acidic fruits have low pH concentrations. In effect, your saliva’s acid level increases. This is harmful to your teeth, which are still healing from the bleaching process it was exposed to during the teeth whitening treatment.
2. Dark-Colored Food
Avoid dark-colored food and beverages to keep your teeth safe from stains. These include:
- Dark-colored sauces, like barbeque sauce and tomato paste
- Colorful spices, like turmeric, paprika, and curry
- Highly-pigmented vegetables and fruits, like beets and pomegranate
- Chocolate and colored candy.
3. Salad Dressing Containing Vinegar
If you love having vinegar as your salad dressing, this should also be avoided for now. Vinegar is highly acidic in nature, so it causes the same harmful effect on your teeth as other acidic food items do. If you really can’t stop yourself from using vinegar with your meals, you can neutralize the acid by eating raw vegetables right after. The best option? Lettuce.
4. Dark Condiments
Apart from vinegar, you have to consider avoiding dark condiments, too. If you can have your dishes without using condiments or dips just now, that’s highly recommended.
Dark condiments can also stain your teeth. These include:
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Balsamic vinegar
5. Curry
After preparing and eating curry, you may have realized how quite difficult it is to clean your pots and pans. While delicious, curry is also notorious for leaving stains. If it has that effect on your dishes, all the worse would be the effect of your teeth’s enamel. It’s time to set aside the curry for now and opt for clear and creamy sauces instead.
What Beverages To Avoid
Together with the food listed above, it’s also a must to stay away from these beverages for the time-being:
1. Colored Beverages
If you’re the type to enjoy a morning cup of dark coffee or an evening glass of red wine to relax, you may have to temporarily halt this habit. Dark coffee and red wine can cause teeth discoloration. In fact, those two beverages may have even been the top culprit as to why you needed to undergo teeth whitening.
Other colored beverages to avoid are:
- Tea
- Fizzy drinks
- Turmeric tea
Because colored beverages can stain your teeth, you may want to choose better alternatives instead. These include:
- Clear alcohol
- Milk
- White win
2. Fruit Juices
Acidic fruits should be avoided not just in their fruit form, but also in their juice form. Even when you liquify the fruits, their acid content remains. How to use Banana Peel for Teeth Whitening Simply rub the inside of the peel on your teeth for a few minutes, rinse, and see your results.
3. Dark Beer
Alcohol always makes it to the top list of beverages to avoid for a healthy lifestyle. But, if you must really have that beer, at least give your gut (and teeth) a break immediately after your teeth whitening treatment. Dark beer isn’t just unhealthy, but it can also stain your teeth when taken regularly.
Conclusion
After you’ve just invested time and money to finally complete your teeth whitening procedure, you’ll want to ensure the results will be lasting. This requires a little bit more effort on your part, however, to the achieve best results. Especially within the first month after your teeth whitening treatment, you have to be more conscious about your food choices by avoiding that food and beverages that can stain.
