Undoubtedly, there is nothing worse than developing a dental problem, especially at an early age. Not only do healthy and white teeth improve your smile appearance and self-esteem, but they also help you chew food which is the first step of digestion. Hence, it is crucial to protect your oral health if you want to enjoy the benefits of having permanent teeth for a lifetime.
Staying on top of your dental health can go a long way in keeping dental and oral health problems at bay. Even if you already have healthy white teeth or just had a cosmetic procedure to improve your smile appearance, remember you have some work to do to preserve that charming smile.
Continue reading this article for top-notch and easy-to-follow tips that you cannot undermine if you want to keep your teeth healthy and brighter throughout your lifetime.
Helpful Tips that Can Help You Keep Your Teeth Healthy and White for a Lifetime
If you want to continue enjoying the unmatched benefits of healthy and white teeth for the longest time possible, it is wise to take the necessary steps to protect them now. With all the advertisements on our screens and social media pages on teeth whitening products, you can quickly tell that most people are not going that extra mile to protect their teeth and oral health.
The reason for that could be ignorance or lack of knowledge on the importance of teeth and how to keep them healthy and white. Generally speaking, keeping your teeth healthy and white is easier than you can imagine. To that end, here are quick, exceptional tips that can help you stay on top of your dental health for a brighter smile that you deserve:
Practice Excellent Oral Care and Hygiene Habits
It could seem simple, but you need an oral and dental care routine to keep your teeth healthy and white. To achieve that, you cannot underestimate the importance of brushing and flossing your teeth daily. While some discoloration in your teeth could naturally come as you age, some are due to plaque buildup, which is avoidable by sticking to a dental care routine.
Simple dental care routines you should never ignore under any circumstances include teeth brushing and flossing. Brushing your teeth at least twice daily using fluoridated toothpaste can keep your teeth stronger and free from stains or discolorations, which could affect the aesthetic appearance of your smile.
Although many toothpaste products in the market today can whiten your teeth, it is wise to talk with your dentist to recommend the best teeth whitening mouthwash or toothpaste. When brushing your teeth, also remember to do so gently to avoid damaging your teeth' enamel. Although your teeth' enamel is heavily mineralized, making it the strongest organ in your body, it has its limits.
Brushing your teeth' enamel vigorously using a toothbrush can make it wear over time, exposing the inner sensitive part of your tooth. For maximum dental health, it is also essential to floss your teeth at least twice daily.
Teeth flossing is an essential oral care routine that most people do not enjoy, but it is vital in removing plaque and food pieces stuck or trapped between your teeth and below the gumline. Even if your toothbrush cannot remove food stuck between your teeth, it is not wise to leave it behind during daily oral care.
When you leave food particles stuck between your teeth unremoved, you could eventually end up with gum or dental disease because the trapped food creates a suitable environment for bacteria to thrive.
In addition to keeping your teeth healthy and white, daily teeth flossing helps prevent bad breath. To floss your teeth, you only need a thin string, but you must be careful to avoid injuring the gums. If your daily dental care routines do not include brushing and flossing, you are leaving your dental and oral health at risk.
Regular flossing and brushing are vital dental care habits that can help your teeth remain healthy and white by preventing plaque buildup and reducing mouth bacteria.
Eliminate or Minimize Staining Foods and Drinks from Your Diet
Wondering why you have stained teeth and never skip any daily dental care routine?
It could be due to foods and drinks that you incorporate into your diet every day. Unfortunately, our lifestyle, particularly the drinks and foods we eat, are the enemies of healthy and white teeth.
The rule of thumb if your daily lifestyle involves eating and drinking staining foods and beverages like dark berries, tomato sauce, coffee, and red wine is to eliminate or reduce their intake. Whenever you decide to consume staining foods, it is vital to brush and rinse your mouth thoroughly using water to reduce their effects on your teeth' enamel color.
If you cannot cut back on staining drinks, it is advisable to use a straw when consuming them to prevent direct contact with your teeth' enamel. To keep your teeth white and healthy, if you cannot do away with your favorite drinks like cola, you should consider buying a batch of reusable straws and keep them handy whenever you want to drink any of these staining beverages at your home or office.
Avoid Using Tobacco and its Products
Although tobacco is an addictive product, you should try your best to overcome the addiction if you want to keep your teeth healthy and white teeth throughout your lifetime. Even if you do not have yellow teeth, they will turn yellowish with time if you continue using tobacco or any of its products like cigarettes.
In addition to the staining and yellowing effect on your teeth, smoking cigarettes can also adversely affect the smell of your breath and increase the risk of other oral issues like cancer and gum disease. As with staining drinks and foods, if you do smoke occasional cigarettes, it is wise to brush and rinse your teeth immediately afterward to wash away these stains.
However, the best solution is to eliminate tobacco and its products from your daily lifestyle because the longer you smoke, the more entrenched discolorations and stains on your teeth become. Removing tobacco and its products from your daily routines can significantly improve your teeth' appearance and oral health.
Avoid Enamel Wear
As mentioned above, your teeth' enamel is the strongest and most mineralized body organ, but it has its limits. Knowing what can cause your teeth' enamel to wear out is vital for maximum protection of your teeth' health. Besides brushing your teeth too hard or vigorously, eating foods with a high concentration of acids and sugar can also weaken your teeth' enamel.
Generally speaking, sugary foods weaken your teeth because they create an acidic environment in your mouth, giving bacteria in your mouth a conducive environment to thrive. When your mouth bacteria feed on these sugary particles lingering in your mouth, they also excrete acidic substances, which can erode your teeth' enamel.
Since tooth enamel protects the inner pulp section of your teeth, it is vital to keep it intact. Below are some of the symptoms that can tell you when you have a weakened or worn-out teeth enamel:
- Uneven surfaces on your teeth
- Teeth sensitivity, especially when you sip cold, sour, or warm drinks or foods
- Teeth yellowing
When you experience any of the above symptoms, you should speak with your dentist without delay to help you identify the root cause of the issue. Leaving a weakened enamel unfixed could lead to infection of the inner part of the tooth, necessitating more extensive and costly dental procedures like a root canal to fix the problem. Fortunately, you can avoid teeth enamel wear by:
- Brushing and flossing your teeth daily
- Cutting back on drinks and beverages that are high in sugar and acid, for example, fruit juices and soda
- Drinking fluoridated tap water
- Eating cheese after consuming a meal to balance the acidity in your mouth
- Brushing your teeth softly and gently using a toothbrush with soft bristles
- Using fluoridated toothpaste
- Chewing sugar-free gum mainly after meals to stimulate saliva secretion to wash away and neutralize acidic substances in your mouth
- Eating foods rich in calcium to remineralize and strengthen your teeth' enamel, for example, broccoli, milk, cheese, and nuts
Occasionally Replace Your Toothbrush
How often do you remember to replace your toothbrush?
Most people do not know that occasionally replacing your toothbrush can protect your dental health and keep your teeth white. If you overuse your toothbrush, the soft bristles that remove food particles and stains from your teeth will become useless, exposing you to the risk of dental health issues.
Worst still, your current toothbrush could be transferring bacteria into your mouth instead of removing them, especially if you were recently sick. Typically, most dentists will recommend that you replace your toothbrush every two or three months for the utmost protection of your dental health and the whiteness of your teeth.
However, when you notice bristle wear on your toothbrush, you should replace it as soon as possible to stay on top of your dental and oral health.
Buy a Tongue Scraper
Most people do not know it, but your tongue can be an excellent breeding ground for bacteria if it is unclean. In addition to causing halitosis, also commonly known as bad breath, the accumulation of bacteria on your tongue can cause teeth discoloration.
Fortunately, you can keep your tongue clean by investing in a tongue scraper, especially if you have a gag reflex that makes it challenging to brush your teeth using a toothbrush. A tongue scraper can drastically improve your dental health and teeth whiteness if your daily dental care routines include tongue scraping to remove food particles lingering and stuck on the tongue.
Due to the many choices available in the market, you should speak with your dentist to recommend a durable and most-effective tongue scraper.
Avoid OTC (Over-the-Counter) Teeth Whiteners
If you want to remove stains and discolorations on your teeth, you can use teeth whiteners at home to achieve your desired teeth whiteness. Although OTC whiteners are cost-friendly and can whiten your teeth, they can cause permanent damage to your teeth' enamel with every use, exposing you to the risk of decay and cavities.
Instead, speaking with your dentist about professional and safe teeth whitening is a wise idea if you want to improve the appearance of your teeth. Although it could cost more than OTC teeth whiteners, professional teeth whitening is safer and will produce better long-lasting results in the long run.
Professional teeth whitening is safer because the dentist will have control of the peroxide that he/she will apply to your teeth to remove the stains without damaging your teeth' enamel or gums. If you want to improve the aesthetic appearance of your smile within a short period, it is a brilliant idea to consider professional teeth whitening by a dentist.
Your dentist could also recommend safe teeth whitening solutions that you can use at home to keep your teeth sparkling clean and healthy.
Eat Raw Veggies and Fruits
Another way to keep your teeth healthy and white is by eating raw fruits and vegetables. Chewing water-dense fruits like apples and mangoes can help remove surface stains and discolorations from your teeth.
While they are not as effective as brushing and flossing your teeth after a meal, eating raw veggies and fruits is a "natural toothbrush" that can help keep your teeth sparkling clean and healthy. In addition, eating these foods also plays a vital role in stimulating saliva production that washes away food particles and bacteria from your mouth.
As you could beware, stained teeth could be a source of embarrassment and low self-esteem. If you feel you are doing whatever is necessary to keep your teeth white and healthy, but they are not as bright as you would want them to be, you should speak with a dentist.
Schedule Regular Appointment With Your Dentist
Lastly, regular dental appointments with your dentist are also vital in ensuring the utmost health and brightness of your smile in your lifetime. Apart from the regular home-based dental care, it is advisable to visit your dentist for dental check-ups at least twice a year.
Your dentist can help you remove persistent and stubborn stains in your teeth that you cannot remove by regular flossing and brushing to give you the charming smile you deserve. For instance, a plaque buildup beneath your gum line could be challenging to remove with home-based dental care routines.
During regular dental appointments, your dentist can help you scrape off these stains and plaque buildup, keeping possible dental and gum infections at bay. In addition to keeping your teeth clean and free from stains, here are other reasons why you should visit your dentist regularly for dental check-ups:
i. Oral Cancer Detection
During regular dental check-ups, your dentist will also keenly check for signs of oral cancer like inflammation or abnormal growth, which you could not detect with your untrained eyes. Visiting your dentist every six months allows him/her to detect these signs and symptoms early for an appropriate treatment plan to manage the problem as soon as possible.
Fortunately, oral cancer is manageable if signs of its early onset are detected early. Other oral and dental health issues your dentist could detect during routine dental check-ups include:
- Gum diseases (gingivitis)
- Impacted teeth
- Cavities
- Jaw injury
ii. Allows You to Consult With Your Dentist About Cosmetic Procedures
Regular dental visits also allow you to speak with your dentist about cosmetic procedures that can work out to your advantage to improve your teeth' appearance. If you have ever thought about wearing braces or Invisalign to improve your smile's aesthetic appearance, you can discuss this issue with your dentist during regular dental visits.
Since not everyone is an excellent candidate for these cosmetic dental procedures, your dentist will examine your dental health for appropriate recommendations that can fix your concerns.
iii. Education On Proper Dental and Oral Hygiene
Another overlooked benefit of scheduling frequent visits with your dentist is education on proper dental and oral hygiene. If you need a more personalized dental care routine for maximum oral health, you should keep up with your dental appointments.
During your dental check-ups, your dentist will assess your oral health and formulate a personalized dental care routine to help you stay on top of your dental health. If some of your dental issues are due to "bad habits" like smoking or vigorous teeth brushing, your dentist will offer relevant advice to help you alter these habits for maximum dental health.
Generally speaking, if you want to save money on your dental and oral health, you can never undermine the importance of regular dental visits under any circumstance. Your dentist can help you catch and fix potential dental problems before they become problematic and expensive.
Find a Dentist Near Me
If you are unsure what to do to keep your teeth healthy and white for the longest time possible, you should talk to a dentist for advice. Reliable and friendly dentists at Washington Dental are here for you if you want to restore or improve your teeth' health and aesthetic appearance for an appealing smile you deserve.
We happily serve patients from Lomita, Los Angeles, Carson, and Torrance, California.
