Top Ten Food and Drinks to Avoid for Teeth Whitening
Have you ever wondered why your teeth get stained so easily? Your diet could be to blame! Some food and drinks contain compounds called chromogens, which give foods their strong color, and make them more likely to stain your teeth. In addition to chromogens, tannins and acids in these foods can also stain your teeth. Continue reading to see which foods to avoid in order to achieve your teeth whitening goals.
#1: Tomato Sauce
Picture this: you put leftover spaghetti in a tupperware container and found it stained yellow the next day. That’s similar to what tomato sauce does to your teeth! The acid in the tomatoes breaks down your tooth enamel, which causes yellow hues to dull your smile. So next time you want to eat pasta or a pizza, maybe think twice for the sake of your teeth!
2: Curry
Curry's deep orange pigment is what causes it to stain your teeth. Because the popular sauce contains turmeric as its main ingredient, the colorful spice can often linger on your teeth. Letting that pigment stick to your teeth can lead to a yellow hue!
#3: Berries, Grapes, Pomegranates
Have you ever held a blueberry in your hand and gotten stained by the juice? Berries and similar fruits have strong pigments, leaving stains on a lot of the things they touch. Although they are nutritious, berries, grapes, and pomegranates are all dark in color and stain the tooth enamel when you eat a lot of them.
#4: Beets
Big fan of beets? Though they are a fun, vibrant root used in many dishes, that red color can actually lead to discoloration. Whether eaten raw or in juice form, beets have a highly concentrated red pigment that causes noticeable staining.
#5: Sweets
Sweets come in a wide variety of forms: caramels, taffy, chocolate, and many others. While we all love them, your teeth certainly don’t. Sweets easily get lodged in your teeth due to their texture and sugar content. This can cause tooth decay and overall decrease your oral hygiene. Eating too many sweets can impede teeth whitening efforts too.
#6: Tea and Coffee
Coffee and tea both contain tannins, which is a compound that stains teeth. While many people enjoy coffee and would find it difficult to cut out of their diets entirely, the risk of staining decreases with the fewer cups you drink. Next time you want that morning coffee, think about having just one cup instead of two! Also, drinking coffee or tea through a straw, rather than straight out of the cup, can decrease the exposure to your enamel.
#7: Wine
Red wine, especially, has tooth discoloration effects. Its acidity causes breaks in your enamel. This makes the enamel more susceptible to stains. Wine also contains those pesky tannins that we mentioned earlier. Just like coffee and tea, the fewer glasses, the less likely you are to have long term stains!
#8: Soda
Soda is extremely sugary and acidic, to a point where it can cut rust off of a penny. As you drink more soda, it wears down your enamel. If you can’t bring yourself to cut out carbonated beverages, a great non-staining alternative to soda is seltzer water!
#9: Fruit Juices
Cherry and cranberry fruit juices are the worst culprits if you are trying to keep up a teeth whitening routine. Some juices contain artificial dyes that can easily lead to tooth staining. Other more natural juices still have those dark berries that can lead to discoloration. Clearer juice such as apple is a great alternative with less pigment. Keep a lookout for juices high in sugar as well, as those can lead to tooth decay!
#10: Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is arguably the worst culprit for impeding teeth whitening. The dark color of soy sauce makes it linger on your teeth long after you’ve finished your meal. Next time you want to dunk a sushi roll into soy sauce, think about the damage it’ll do to your pearly whites!
For more foods to avoid for a white smile, visit: https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/ss/slideshow-foods-stain-teeth.
How to Avoid and Reverse Teeth Staining:
Now that you know the top ten foods to avoid for white teeth, you can take steps to improve your teeth whitening routine. If you have been eating some or all of these foods on a regular basis, your teeth may already be stained. However, you can reverse the damage by doing the following things:
1. Brush your teeth 2-3 times per day using a teeth whitening toothpaste
Consistently using a teeth whitening toothpaste is amazing because you reap the normal benefits of brushing your teeth, while making your teeth brighter and whiter. You will have healthier gums and teeth overall, and be at a decreased risk for cavities and gum disease. Not to mention, you’ll have fresher breath! Novashine’s teeth whitening toothpaste is formulated with natural and organic ingredients like tea tree oil, is SLS-, fluoride-, and cruelty-free, and gives you minty, fresh breath. Plus, you’ll see the teeth whitening benefits right away!
To get a deeper, more effective clean, try Novashine’s Supersonic Toothbrush. With 36,800 Sonic Vibrations per minute, and 5 cleaning modes, your teeth are sure to be stain-free after one use.
2. Use a teeth whitening kit
While using a teeth whitening toothpaste and high quality toothbrush are essential for white teeth, a teeth whitening kit will take your smile to the next level. Our teeth whitening kit includes hydrogen peroxide, which is a bleaching agent that is used in the gel that comes in our kit, and professional treatments. Because our teeth whitening kit has hydrogen peroxide, the color of your teeth actually changes--rather than simply removing surface stains like other products do. Using this will effectively, yet gently, remove the stains in your teeth over time.
3. Chew Gum
Chewing gum that contains xylitol will help stimulate saliva production, and that will make your teeth less likely to stain.
4. Make Different Food Choices
While some foods stain your teeth, other foods act as natural stain removers. Some of these foods include apples, carrots, almonds, and celery. Make sure to include these in your diet for ultimate teeth whitening results.
Achieving the Whitest Smile Possible
Some of the foods that cause the darkest tooth stains are nutritious, and actually offer many vitamins and minerals! Therefore, you don’t want to have to cut them out of your diet completely. You don’t have to give up the foods you love in order to have a perfectly white smile! Just include Novashine’s teeth whitening toothpaste or teeth whitening kit into your routine to counteract the stains that these foods cause. Make sure to rinse your mouth if you do choose to eat them, stay on top of your tooth brushing routine, and include teeth whitening products on a weekly or daily basis to get your brightest and whitest smile. Now you too can be confident in your bright white smile!