The Best Foods to Help Maintain Whitened Teeth

When you invest time and energy into whitening your teeth, it’s normal to want to protect your brightened smile. Though oral hygiene encompasses more than your diet, there are certain foods in particular that are great for maintaining oral health and reducing factors that contribute to teeth staining. 

Read on to find out how dairy products, crunchy fruits and vegetables, broccoli, strawberries, pineapple, and nuts can help you maintain whitened teeth.

About Teeth Whitening 

Over time, many people find that their teeth become stained or discolored. Common culprits for these problems include poor dental hygiene, certain foods and drinks, tobacco use, and aging. 

Even if you regularly brush and floss, staining and discoloration can still occur. Because of this, some look to teeth whitening treatments to achieve a pearly white smile. 

There are two primary forms of these treatments: 

Professional whitening treatments: Dentists can provide teeth whitening treatments at their office. Most dentists bleach your teeth using hydrogen peroxide in gel form, applying it to your teeth while covering your gums and root surfaces. This process usually takes between an hour and an hour and a half. 

At-home whitening treatments: Your dentist can customize a take-home whitening kit for you by taking impressions of your teeth in order to create custom trays. Then, you place a whitening gel into the trays and wear them as instructed, with results usually visible between one and two weeks. Over-the-counter solutions are also available, often containing less strong concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. 

Once you’ve gotten your teeth whitened, you’ll want to do what you can to keep them looking bright. In addition to making oral hygiene an everyday priority, it can be helpful to know what foods are oral-health positive. 

Dairy Products

Select dairy products can be great for your teeth. Hard cheeses and unsweetened yogurt are among the most tooth-friendly dairy products for multiple reasons.

They can help with:

• Cleaning food particles: Hard cheeses, such as parmesan, romano, and gouda, can stimulate saliva production, assisting in washing away food particles.

• Decreasing tooth decay: By increasing saliva flow and helping to neutralize the acids in your mouth, certain dairy products may reduce the risk of decay.

• Reducing harmful bacteria: Some yogurts contain good probiotic bacteria, which can support a better balance of your oral bacteria.  

• Supplying calcium: This strengthens your teeth and helps to support the natural remineralization of your tooth enamel.

Crunchy Fruits and Veggies 

Some fibrous, crunchy fruits and vegetables can be beneficial to your teeth. Three examples of this are apples, carrots, and celery. Each of these fresh options can help with natural scrubbing, in addition to the other health benefits they offer. 

Though they do not have the same effects as brushing and flossing, they contain a higher water content, which can lead to an increase in saliva and have a cleaning effect on your teeth. 

Carrots and celery can also massage your gums and are a good source of beta carotene, which helps your body create vitamin A. This vitamin is an important nutrient for maintaining healthy gums and teeth.

Other Fruits and Veggies

Other fruits and veggies, such as strawberries, pineapple, and broccoli, are helpful for your teeth as well. Each food comes with its own distinct oral health benefits.

Strawberries: Strawberries contain malic acid, which may help to loosen some surface-level stains. They also contain vitamin C, which supports gum health and may help to reduce inflammation in your gums.

Pineapple: Pineapple contains bromelain, which is an enzyme with natural cleansing properties that may help break down proteins. Like strawberries, it contains vitamin C. It’s important to note that due to its acidity, you should have pineapple in moderation to protect your enamel.

Broccoli: Broccoli also contains vitamin C and other positive nutrients for your oral health. It acts as a natural toothbrush due to its crunchy texture, which can stimulate saliva production and may remove food particles.

Nuts  

Nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, cashews, and peanuts, are other oral-health-positive snack options. They contain phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium, which can strengthen both your tooth enamel and your jawbone. 

They can also act as natural exfoliants for your teeth due to their texture. When you chew them, their crunch may have mild scrubbing effects, helping with saliva stimulation and stain removal. 

Foods to Limit

Everything is okay in moderation; however, there are some foods and beverages that are best to avoid in excess when trying to keep your teeth white.

Coffee, red wine, dark sodas, and black tea are common beverage culprits for staining. Dark chocolate, beets, blueberries, cherries, citrus fruits, and pickles are examples of foods to avoid in large quantities as well due to their staining potential. 

As helpful as it can be to learn which foods are more productive for your teeth, the most important things to focus on when it comes to keeping your teeth bright are brushing and flossing.  

Durango Cosmetic Dentistry Services 

At Durango Dental, our cosmetic dentistry services are designed to meet your dental needs and boost your confidence. We offer assistance with bridges, implants, crowns, and teeth whitening.

For teeth whitening services, we can help you choose the best course of treatment. Whether you are interested in bleaching or whitening strips, our team can explain your options and help you find the best teeth whitening services for you. 

Reach out to our team today, and we can help you get that process started.