Five things that are staining your teeth!
We all want beautiful bright, white smiles, right? A smile can boost your self-confidence and it can take years off your appearance. While we offer teeth tooth tooth whitening at Ernevale House it also helps to know which habits, foods and drinks can cause discolouration in your teeth and how to minimise this. Here are 5 common culprits that stain your pearly whites:
Smoking
It’s no surprise that smoking causes yellow and/or brown stains on your teeth. The tar and nicotine in the cigarettes get absorbed into the microscopic openings in your tooth enamel, which leads to discolouration over time.
Giving up smoking is your best option to avoid a smoker’s smile, but brushing thoroughly twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing, can help to fight the effects of staining. Also having regular appointments with our hygienist can help to remove these stains too.
Drinking tea & coffee
Your favourite brew can be staining your teeth as tea and coffee have a dark pigmentation that will discolour your teeth over time. To help combat the staining, rinse your mouth with water after your cuppa. Swish the water around your mouth to help wash away any residue and to help keep your teeth white.
Soft drinks
The high sugar content in soft drinks isn’t the only thing you should be concerned about – the colouring and acidity are also bad news for your pearly whites. The dark colours in drinks like Cola may cause yellow staining over time.
Switch the fizzy drink to water with fresh cucumber and mint for a tooth-friendly alternative.
Red wine
It’s often said that a little red wine can be good for your general health but it’s not so good for your teeth. The dark coloured beverage has very strong pigments that cling to your enamel and stain your teeth.
While you should drink red wine in moderation, when you do fancy a glass of red, drink it through a straw to help reduce the staining. The wine hits the roof of your mouth and bypasses your teeth, which reduces the amount of exposure your enamel receives from the wine.
Sweets
Strongly coloured sweets such as sticky sweets, lollipops, ice-lollies etc can cause discolouration as your teeth are exposed to these sweets for a long period of time. As you suck the sweets and keep it in your mouth for a long time, your teeth are in more contact with the strong pigments, which increases the chance of staining.
Try to limit your intake of sweets and drink plenty of water after eating the sweets, and if possible try for the sugar free varieties.