Patients with stained, yellowed, or discolored teeth can enhance their smiles with cosmetic dental treatment. In-office teeth whitening involves coating teeth with a bleaching gel. Your dentist uses concentrated light to activate whitening agents in the gel to help you achieve your ideal tooth color. Once your smile is looking its best, you will want to preserve these effects for as long as possible. The dentists at Lanier Family and Cosmetic Dentistry in Buford, GA describe how to keep your teeth bright after a professional whitening treatment
Avoid staining substances
Tooth discoloration can happen for reasons beyond a patient’s control, such as aging or medication side effects. However, staining can also come from eating or drinking dark-colored food or beverages. These substances can contain tannins which absorb into tooth enamel and leave stains on your teeth, even after a professional whitening treatment. Examples of these include coffee, tea, and red wine. These items should be avoided or enjoyed in moderation to protect your teeth color.
Practice good oral hygiene
Proper oral hygiene keeps your mouth healthy, which will provide the ideal environment for your smile to look its best for as long as possible. Good oral hygiene habits include brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing daily. Ideally, flossing should be done at night to remove plaque between your teeth that develops throughout your day. If left untreated, plaque will eat away at enamel, leaving your teeth vulnerable to staining, discoloration, and decay. To maintain your smile’s appearance, you should keep your mouth clean with a good oral hygiene routine.
Visit your dentist regularly
A major part of your oral hygiene routine is seeing your dentist for regular cleaning appointments. During these visits, your dentist cleans plaque and tartar from your teeth that are missed with traditional brushing. Your dentist can also give you a fluoride treatment during these appointments to strengthen enamel and make it more capable of resisting staining agents. You can speak to your dentist about whitening touch-up treatments too, which can help maintain your ideal smile aesthetic.