Having sparkly white teeth is an absolute must if you want to stay attractive and pleasant looking. Having a set of perfectly white teeth is a strong confident booster. It can affect the way you carry yourself to the rest of the world.
However, the road to having white teeth is a difficult to tackle. If you have noticed, teeth whitening products and services are very popular in the market. They always end up in Google searches because not many people are gifted with pearly white teeth. For starters, the food that we eat greatly influence the way our teeth looks. If you are not careful with your diet and dental hygiene, you may end up with not so pleasant looking teeth.
Here are 5 tips to keep those teeth pearly white:
1. Avoid dark foods.
Heavily pigmented foods such as blueberries, dishes with marinara sauce, and foods heavily seasoned with soy sauce can cause teeth to stain. Even dark
Beverages such as tea, colas, red wine and black coffee can also make teeth yellow. To help minimize teeth discoloration, brush immediately after eating pigmented foods. If this is not possible, eat an apple for dessert. Any raw, crunchy vegetable such as carrots and cauliflower also helps remove stains and even stubborn plaques.
2. Change your toothbrush regularly.
Dentists recommend changing your toothbrush every two to three months. This is to ensure that every brushing is effective in removing plaques and any mild stains. If your toothbrush’s bristles are all worn down, it may not be able to clean your teeth and mouth efficiently.
3. Use baking soda sparingly.
Baking soda is often used as teeth whitener and many oral hygiene products even containing the ingredient. However, using baking soda on your teeth too often can abrade the enamel. It can cause the enamel to thin, thereby, weakening its protection against tough stains.
4. Swish your mouth with water after eating citrus fruits.
Citrus fruits such as orange, lemon and lime may be rich in vitamin C which can help prevent scurvy but it also contain strong acids which can cause the teeth’s enamel to erode. To prevent erosion, rinse your mouth with water. Swish it around so it will rinse out the acid. Also, avoid brushing your teeth immediately after eating citrus and other acidic foods. It softens the enamel and brushing vigorously will cause it to erode. Instead, wait for up to an hour after eating to brush your teeth.
5. Brush your tongue and teeth thoroughly.
Brushing your teeth thoroughly and effectively does not mean vigorous, hard strokes. The ideal way to brush your teeth is by holding your toothbrush the way you hold a pen. Brush in gentle, circular strokes with the head of your brush angled at 45 degrees to your gums. Brushing time should last more than two minutes. Do not forget to brush or scrape your tongue clean. Some bacteria found in your tongue can cause also cause teeth discoloration.
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