How To Maintain A White Smile

Are you longing for a more beautiful, white smile? Fortunately, brightening your teeth is as easy as visiting our dentist at Spokane Dental for a whitening treatment. Whether you choose a professional in-office bleaching treatment or use whitening kits at home, you may wonder, “What can I do to maintain a white smile?”. After you spend your hard earned money on whitening treatments, the last thing you want is fast discoloration. Find out how to maintain your whitening results long term to keep the bright, white color you have always wanted.

Over time, exposure to certain drinks, foods, and tobacco, can gradually darken your freshly whitened teeth. However, there are steps you can take to maintain your best smile. Compared to the money and time spent on whitening teeth, it only takes small changes in your daily habits to keep your teeth looking and feeling their best.

Maintain a Healthy Smile

Following a whitening treatment, it's especially important for patients to keep their teeth healthy and clean. The easiest way to maintain a healthy smile is through routine brushing and flossing. Patients should use an ADA-approved fluoride toothpaste after they whiten their teeth and as part of their daily oral regime. In addition to maintaining your pearly whites, consistent oral hygiene habits also help prevent gum disease, tooth decay, and cavities. Because a clean smile is a beautiful smile.

Dr. Jonathon Smith says at a minimum, patients should be brushing their teeth after breakfast and before they go to bed. To fight red wine and coffee discoloration, you can also clean your teeth any time during the day. Bring a small toothbrush and other portable oral hygiene items with to work or school, and always rinse your mouth with water after drinking soda, tea, red wine, or coffee.

Avoid Stain Causing Beverages and Foods

Protecting your teeth from foods and beverages that can stain is essential, but the very best way to maintain a white smile is to avoid them altogether. In the weeks following your whitening treatment, limit drinks and foods that have a higher stain potential. When in doubt, avoid food and drinks with intense pigmentation, staining factors, and acidity.

Many drinks, including red and white wine, sports drinks, sodas, tea, and coffee, cause stains due to their acidity. These drinks don’t just yellow your teeth; they can also erode enamel and encourage further staining from food. Additionally, tomato sauce, berries, hard candy, vinegar will also cause tooth discoloration and decay. If you can’t avoid these foods and drinks altogether, try minimizing your teeth’s exposure to stain-causing dyes by drinking potentially harmful beverages through a straw.

Kick the Tobacco Habit

It's no secret that tobacco is harmful to your body in more ways than one. Not only does using tobacco products put you at risk for a variety of health risks including lung cancer, but it can also lead to gum disease, tooth loss, and even mouth cancer. If that wasn't enough, tobacco is also known to be a primary cause of tooth discoloration in smokers.

How exactly does tobacco yellow teeth? Your teeth have pores just like your skin does. The tar and nicotine found in tobacco products are readily absorbed through these pores causing brown and yellow discoloration. Although nicotine is clear, it turns yellow when it is exposed to oxygen. Yes, this means electronic cigarettes that contain nicotine can also discolor your teeth. If you’ve been thinking about kicking the habit, the weeks following your teeth whitening treatment is a great place to start.

Use Dentist Recommended At-Home Products

Following your teeth whitening procedure, our dentist may recommend a certain at-home teeth whitening product to prolong your procedure. Dentist approved gels, toothpastes, or at-home treatments can help maintain a whiter smile long-term, and reduce the need for frequent professional treatments. Talk with Dr. Jonathon Smith at Spokane Dental for recommendations on the best at-home products for you and your smile. From professionally crafted custom gel whitening trays to ADA-approved toothpastes and rinses, we got you and your smile covered.

Keep Up With Your Dental Visits

In addition to regular day-to-day care, the brightness of your teeth also depends on scheduling periodic visits your dentist for regular checkups. At Spokane Dental, our dental experts can polish away surface stains while cleaning your teeth. The targeted and abrasive action of a professional teeth cleaning is effective in fighting away discoloration without having to bleach your teeth again. Plus, you’ll have the confidence of maintaining teeth that are clean and strong. What’s more beautiful than a healthy smile? For the best results, we recommend scheduling 3 to 4 dental visits each year to keep your oral health and teeth at their best. Dr. Jonathon Smith says, "If you clean your teeth conscientiously and regularly, you will have less chance of keeping stains on your teeth."

With excellent oral habits, daily brushing and flossing, and professional cleanings, you can maintain a bright, white smile. However, even without habits like smoking and coffee consumption stains can return over time. If you or someone you know is unhappy with their smile, talk to our experts. To help maintain a whiteness long-term, we’ll work with you to develop a custom tray for treatments at home. Whenever you feel like your teeth are starting to fade again due to drinking and eating, you can use your custom-fitted mouth tray and professional whitening gel to maintain your best color.

Get Your Teeth Whitening By Spokane Dental Today!

If you have a special event, or just have been longing for a whiter smile, call Spokane Dental. Our cosmetic experts will be able to determine if you are a good candidate for teeth whitening and discuss the types and frequency of teeth whitening products that would work best for your smile and teeth whitening goals. Call our office in Spokane Washington at (509) 822–5614 to request an appointment today.