There are some simple teeth whitening strategies you can try before you go and book a tooth whitening procedure at your dentist that will no doubt be expensive. Sometimes all it takes to get beautiful pearly whites is a few healthy oral habits. Beauty N’ Fashion is going to go over our top tips for sparkling white teeth!
Avoid Consuming Teeth Staining Foods
It’s quite simple, your teeth reflect the things you eat and drink. This means that if you are consuming foods and drinks that can stain your clothes, they are staining your teeth too. Such items include things like:
- Red Wine
- Black Tea
- Smoking Cigarettes
- Colas
- Gravies
- Dark Juices
All of these, and more, contribute to the dulling of your fabulous smile and turning your beautiful teeth not-so-pearly-white. To avoid the untimely staining of your teeth, follow these next steps carefully.
Firstly, after eating teeth staining foods, go and brush your teeth right away. Secondly, obtain a good bleaching agent from your dentist and use it regularly. Thirdly, be mindful of the foods and drinks that stain your teeth and only consume them when you are able to brush them with your toothbrush immediately after having them. If you don’t have a toothbrush handy, think about skipping the staining foods or drinks.
Two Minute Rule
As a minimum, you should be brushing your teeth for 2 minutes. This allows you to fully brush your teeth long enough to get all the bacteria and plaque off of your teeth. If you don’t have an electric toothbrush that can time you, you can use a watch or a timer to set your 2-minute brushing. As another alternative, you can put on a fun song that lasts 2 minutes and brush your teeth to the tune or just hum a song you know for 2 minutes.
Scrubbing Harder Is Not Better
If your toothbrush looks flat and worn, you are probably brushing your teeth too hard. Contrary to popular belief, scrubbing harder does not remove more plaque. Doing this actually wears down the enamel of your teeth and causes your gums to recede, which can cause other oral health problems. What you should do is have your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and lightly brush using circular motions to get your gums and teeth. The back-and-forth motion does not adequately remove the plaque from your teeth. To help monitor the pressure you are exerting, hold your toothbrush like a pencil. This will stop you from pressing too hard.
A Cup of Tea A Day Keeps the Bacteria Away
Teas have flavonoids and other ingredients that appear to help stop harmful bacteria from latching onto your teeth. Tea ingredients also help to prevent cavities by blocking the production of a particular type of sugar. As an added bonus, it also has large amounts of fluoride, which help your teeth.
Switch The Toothbrush
To avoid wearing out your toothbrush, it’s important to replace your toothbrush regularly. every 2-3 months you should be throwing away your regular toothbrush or replacing the head of your electric toothbrush. If not, all you’re doing is spreading around the bacteria in your mouth.
Mouthwash is Key
When getting a mouthwash, make sure to grab the one that is alcohol free. Although you might think that a mouthwash with alcohol is good, it usually contains too much alcohol. When this happens, the alcohol will dry out your mouth tissues and make them vulnerable to bacteria. It has even been speculated from some studies that there is a link between alcohol mouthwashes and an increase in oral cancer.
