You dove in! You got your teeth whitened professionally and chances are that you are amazed by how beautiful your smile is. Unfortunately, whitening is not a permanent process. There are still many things you can do to darken and stain your smile and undo all your whitening investment.
Thankfully, it will take a while for your white smile to fade, but, you can get the most of your smile with the tips listed by your cosmetic dentists in Bristol VA and Blountville TN. Happy smiling!
Avoid Dark Drinks
This means: coffee, soda, grape juice, red wine, and black tea. No, you don’t have to reduce your liquid diet to green tea, white wine, and water. You simply need to limit the intake and drink with a straw whenever possible. Hot, black coffee may be the exception, though. Black coffee will stain the quickest when not diluted with cream. Switch to iced whenever possible and drink with a straw if black is truly the only way you will drink your coffee!
Avoid Cigarettes and Cigars
Cigarettes and cigars leave tar deposits on your teeth. These tar deposits will even range in color – grey, brown, or even green. Freshly whitened teeth will be exceptionally prone to thick deposits from smoking. You’ll see your white smile fade in a matter of weeks if you start smoking right after a whitening.
Avoid Dark-Colored Foods
Much like grape juice and red wine will stain your teeth rather quickly, certain foods will do the same. Blueberry pie, for instance, will stain quickly. Eating blueberries, is less of a concern, but sugar-laden, color-dense blueberry pie filling will darken your smile dramatically if eaten frequently. Pomegranates and blackberries are also guilty of doing this – but, they will stain your teeth in their fresh, raw forms. So, limit intakes of these.
Schedule Touch Ups
It is also a good idea to have a whitening appointment on the books with your dentist. Every 3-6 months is typically good for a single session, depending on the strength. Your dentist will be able to let you know for sure what should be a good schedule for touch-ups.
If you’re looking to make that next step for a brighter smile, don’t hesitate to call Seaver and Pittman today! For our Bristol location, call (276) 466-2028. For our Blountville location, call (423) 217-1338.