How To Keep Your Teeth From Getting Stains

There are several things that can cause our teeth to stain, including poor dental hygiene, ageing, injury to the teeth, excessive exposure to fluoride, stain-causing foods and drinks, family history, and use of certain medicines. Stains can occur on the surface of the tooth (extrinsic discolouration) or by changes in the tooth material (intrinsic discolouration). The good news is there are several ways we can prevent many of the common teeth stains. For starters:

Brush Your Teeth

Brushing after every meal or tooth-staining drink helps to prevent tooth discolouration from food and drinks. Brush in a circular motion for about 2 minutes using a toothbrush with soft bristles. Plaque removal mostly depends on the quality of your brushing and not the toothbrush itself; however, a high-quality electric toothbrush may prove more effective if you can’t do a thorough job manually.

Floss

Even if you brush regularly, you might still end up with plaque at the gum line and between the teeth. Plaque creates a stronghold for stain-causing substances to grab on to. By flossing every day, you’ll get rid of the plaque in these areas and eliminate places of potential staining.

Use Whitening Products

There are several whitening products on the market that you can use. For instance, mouthwashes with an antibacterial action can help reduce stain-catching plaque, while whitening toothpaste will give the brush extra cleaning and whitening power. There’s also sugar-free gum meant for preventing and treating teeth stains. Don’t expect miracles with these whitening products since they only stay on the tooth surface for a short period of time. But they’ll surely give a bit of whitening.

Rinse With Water

Try alternating stain-causing drinks such as coffee, wine, tea, sodas, and fruit juices with water to rinse off your teeth before the stains can take hold. Rinsing thoroughly after every meal also gives stain-causing foods less time to do their damage and removes food particles that might get stuck in between your teeth and attract stains.

Sip Through a Straw

Sipping through a straw may not seem ideal, but it limits the amount of stain-causing liquid that comes in contact with your teeth.

Teeth discolouration can get in the way of a confident smile; as such, the more stained your teeth become, the sooner you’ll need to get them whitened. That being said, tooth whitening isn’t for everyone, including pregnant or breasting mothers, kids who still have baby teeth, as well as anyone with oral health problems such as gum disease, tooth decay, tooth sensitivity, and cracked teeth. Tooth whitening may aggravate existing problems; therefore, start with a dental check-up before any tooth whitening procedure. If you choose to whiten your own teeth, you can purchase over-the-counter custom whitening trays or whitening strips. While you can get great results at home, tooth whitening is best done by a dentist. Your dentist at Pure Dentistry will evaluate, diagnose and treat any existing oral health problems and advise you on the safe and effective ways to whiten your teeth based on the cause of the discolouration. Your dentist not only offers whiter teeth, but also ensures a healthy smile that contributes to your overall health.