Clean healthy teeth and a bright smile can do wonders for your confidence. At New Leaf Dentists, we love nothing more than helping patients to love their smiles! Here are some tips for keeping your teeth clean and bright:
1. Avoiding stains and removing them with effective oral hygiene at home will keep your teeth looking whiter
Stains come from our diet, some medications and supplements, and, of course, from smoking cigarettes. Wanting to have healthier teeth that look whiter can be a great incentive to quitting smoking! Ask us about smoking cessation techniques at your next appointment. Let us know what medications, vitamins and supplements you take so that we can assess if they are contributing to tooth discolouration. Little tricks like having frequent intermittent sips of fluoridated tap water while enjoying your tea, coffee and red wine can help reduce stains too.
Cleaning regularly and thoroughly will help to remove stains. Wait at least 30 minutes after eating or drinking and then floss teeth then use a soft bristle toothbrush, in the morning and evening, for no less than two minutes. Many electric toothbrushes have handy timers that will alert you when two minutes is up. Some will even alert you if you are pressing too hard!
If your bristles are all splayed and bent and look like an echidna, you’re pressing too hard and damaging your enamel! You can be thorough while also being gentle, it's more about technique than using force. Using circular and jiggle and flick motions will more effectively remove plaque from those hard to reach areas than sawing roughly back and forth. Brushing gently will prevent you from damaging your gums also. Many people that brush too hard or with an abrasive technique brush their gum tissue away, which can cause aesthetic issues as well as making the teeth very sensitive.
Use a fluoride toothpaste. If you do not have fluoridated tap water at home e.g you are on tank water then we can prescribe a higher fluoride toothpaste for you. Fluoride makes your enamel stronger and more resistant to wear from acid and hard brushing. Your enamel is the protective whiter outer layer of your teeth. The inside layer of your teeth is called the dentine and is yellower in colour. The more you wear away your white enamel, the more the yellower inside colour of your teeth will show through.
2. Protecting your enamel from acid wear and dehydration will keep your teeth looking whiter
Acids can come from our bodies into our mouths, for example from acid reflux and vomiting. They can also come from outside our bodies into our mouths, mostly from our food and drinks but also from some medications and supplements.
If you suffer from acid reflux and regular vomiting, see your GP for management to help prevent the frequency and duration of these episodes. Rinsing with tap water after vomiting and avoiding brushing for at least 30 minutes after will help protect your enamel.
Reducing our consumption of acidic foods and drinks can help protect our enamel. Little tricks like limiting acidic drinks to special occasions, enjoying them with a meal instead of on their own, and drinking them quickly and through a straw can make a huge difference. Having your wine or beer with a high protein high fat snack like nuts and cheese can help. Have a glass of tap water next to your alcoholic beverage so you can have sips of it in between. This will all help buffer the acid from your drinks and will also help keep you hydrated.
Staying hydrated throughout the day will help your mouth produce saliva which will also protect your enamel. Keep a water bottle with you as a reminder to have regular sips and aim for having at least two litres of fluoridated tap water a day. Aim for even more than that if you are exercising, if you have a physical job or if you are drinking multiple caffeinated or alcoholic drinks that day.
3. Having regular professional cleans at the dentist will keep your teeth looking whiter
Make visiting your dentist a bi-annual priority. We are trained to properly assess what is causing your teeth to become stained or discoloured. We have equipment that can remove stains that have hardened over time and cannot be removed with flossing and brushing at home.
4. Book a consult to discuss our teeth whitening options
After discussing your aesthetic concerns with you and thoroughly examining you, we can discern which options are going to be safest and most effective for you, and help you achieve the results you want.
Get in touch with our friendly and professional dental team today!