Tips For Caring For Your Teeth After Whitening
If you have an upcoming appointment for professional teeth whitening, it's likely that you're not happy with the overall color of your teeth and want to fix it. While professional teeth whitening can be a great way to give you a whiter smile, maintaining that smile is only possible if you follow the correct steps after the procedure. Here are some tips that you will need to know to do just that.
Avoid Teeth-Staining Foods
There are a ton of foods (known for their dark color) that are known for staining teeth. It is very important that you do not eat or drink these foods immediately after the procedure, which will allow them to wash over the surface of your teeth. This includes coffee, tea, red wine, dark berries, sodas, and things of that nature.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to not eat or drink anything that could ruin a white T-shirt if it were to fall onto it. Staining your teeth after a whitening procedure is a lot easier than you think it is.
Use A Straw When Possible
Once you have reached the period of time recommended by your dentist to avoid those dark foods and beverages, you may want to take some extra precautions to prevent dark beverages from staining your teeth again. While your teeth are the most susceptible to staining over the first few days, it was likely the long-term effects that caused the staining to happen in the first place.
The best way to drink dark beverages is to prevent the liquid from washing over your teeth. Using a straw prevents that from happening for the most part, and allows you to enjoy your favorite dark beverage without the fear of undoing your whitening treatment.
Use Sensitive Teeth Toothpaste
You will notice that your teeth are very sensitive after having a whitening treatment performed. This is because the chemicals use actually open up the small pores on the surface of your teeth, known as tubules, which allow cold and hot foods to be easily felt through your teeth.
The best way to deal with this problem during the first few days after a whitening treatment is to use a sensitive teeth toothpaste. These kinds of toothpaste work by closing up the pores of your teeth so that you can better tolerate hot and cold foods.
Contact a local dental service, such as Thomas J Gilbert DDS PC / Royal Oak Dental, to learn more.
