How to Keep Your Teeth Healthy and White

Although many factors contribute to an attractive and healthy smile, having teeth that are whiter and brighter is one of the most popular cosmetic improvements. Undoubtedly, stained and yellowed teeth are a common cause of self-consciousness and embarrassment among many people, including teenagers and adults.

Fortunately, achieving that screen-worthy or celebrity smile does not have to be a complex process, regardless of how stained your teeth are. Keep reading this article to learn a few tips about keeping your and your loved one's teeth pearly white and, most significantly, healthy.

Maintaining Your Teeth White and Healthy

As we age, lifestyle choices, dietary habits, and usual wear and tear could affect the brightness and health of our teeth, regardless of how stained they have become. Below are some of the tips that can help you stay on top of your dental health for the beautiful smile that you deserve:

Use the Right Toothpaste

Several types of toothpaste nowadays have hydrogen peroxide, which helps kill bacteria and germs in your teeth and mouth. However, using this chemical on your teeth often could harm them. That is why most dentists recommend using toothpaste with minimal concentrations of this chemical.

Ensure the toothpaste you choose has baking soda, which helps whiten your teeth and keep them bright. Using toothpaste with baking soda also helps keep your mouth clean due to its alkaline properties, keeping bacteria at bay.

Although achieving the desired results will not happen overnight, a study published by the National Library of Medicine shows that toothpaste containing baking soda and hydrogen peroxide could make your teeth around 62% whiter. This study also revealed that you can notice the results of using the right toothpaste within six (6) weeks.

Practice Excellent Oral Hygiene

The most critical step to helping you maintain a healthy and bright smile is practicing excellent oral hygiene habits like flossing and brushing. Flossing and brushing your teeth at least twice daily for two minutes can help remove food particles stuck between your teeth and plaque build-up on your teeth.

Remember, brushing your teeth vigorously or with force does not equal cleaner or whiter teeth. When brushing your teeth, remember to do it gently to avoid damaging the enamel (the hard outer surface of the tooth).

Aside from preventing decay, cavities, gum diseases, and other oral health issues, practicing excellent oral hygiene habits can help keep your teeth sparkling clean and white for the charming smile you deserve.

Eat Foods That Can Strengthen and Whiten Your Teeth

Unbelievably, your diet choices can also affect the health and whiteness of your teeth. If you are unsure of what foods to eat to ensure your teeth are strong and whiter, below are some of our top reliable suggestions you can consider to stay on top of your dental and oral health:

• Strawberries

Fresh fruits like strawberries can help keep your teeth white and healthy because these fruits contain malic acid, an excellent bleaching agent for removing stains and discolorations in your teeth. Strawberries are also excellent fruits for triggering increased saliva production, which helps protect your mouth against germs and bacteria.

Although you can eat raw strawberries, you will benefit more from these fruits' malic acid when you smash them in a clean bowl and apply the concussion to the surface of your teeth for about five minutes.

After that period, you should thoroughly rinse your mouth with clean water and brush your teeth as usual because allowing these acidic components to stay on the surface of your teeth for too long can erode the enamel.

• Seeds and Nuts

Incorporating seeds and nuts into your daily diet could help you maintain and improve your dental and oral health. Nuts and nutritious seeds like almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and cashews help strip away or remove stains and discolorations from the surface of your teeth due to their abrasive texture. Seeds like chia seeds also contain important minerals like calcium, which help strip away stains from the surface of your teeth.

• Celery, Carrots and Apples

If you want to strengthen and make your teeth healthier, consider incorporating vegetables and fruits like apples into your diet. Crunchy foods like carrots, apples, and celery help trigger salivary glands to produce more saliva, which is your mouth's natural cleansing and antibacterial solution.

The "crunchy" element of these fruits and veggies can also do wonders for scrubbing stains and discolorations off the surface of your teeth.

Avoid or Limit the Intake of Foods and Drinks That Stain the Enamel

Unfortunately, some of your favorite drinks, like tea and red wine, have staining properties that could affect the color of your teeth. If you enjoy drinking red wine or coffee often, you would want to consider using a straw to allow the stain-causing beverage to bypass your teeth, especially the front teeth.

Since several reusable straws are available today, this lifestyle is not challenging or expensive to cope with for the healthy and bright smile you deserve. Colorful foods like blueberries and pomegranates contain a dark pigment that could stain your teeth.

When you eat these types of fruits, it is a wise idea to rinse your mouth immediately to wash away the stain-causing residue from the surface of your teeth.

Avoid Smoking Cigarettes or Tobacco-Related Products

Aside from causing bad breath, smoking cigarettes or any tobacco-related product can have a staining effect on your teeth. As with staining drinks and foods, if you smoke cigarettes occasionally, remember to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with water immediately.

Use At-Home Teeth Whitening Solutions

Nowadays, you can whiten your teeth at home using teeth-whitening products. However, you should beware that some teeth-whitening solutions could cause permanent damage to your gums and the enamel of your teeth. Since several teeth-whitening products are available today, you would want to consult your dentist to recommend the best product to whiten your teeth.

Make Regular Appointment With Your Dentist

Do not underestimate or overlook the need to schedule regular dental appointments. Scheduling regular dental appointments with your dentist at least twice a year helps keep your teeth healthy and bright for an appealing smile throughout your lifetime.

During regular dental appointments, your dentist will help you clean your teeth thoroughly to remove stubborn discolorations that are challenging to remove with home-based dental care routines. Regular dental appointments are also important because they allow your dentist to examine and check your teeth and mouth for abnormalities like decay or growth.

If you have an abnormality, your dentist will offer immediate treatment to prevent the progression of the problem. During these bi-annual dental visits, your dentist will address all your dental and oral health-related questions to help you make informed decisions about your dental and oral health.

Can a Tooth Repair Itself?

Yes, while a missing tooth cannot grow back, your tooth can repair itself in other ways. Each of your teeth has enamel, which protects the inner part of the tooth. Unfortunately, eating sugary and acidic foods can make the enamel wear away, exposing the inner part of your tooth.

If you have damaged or eroded enamel, your dentist will recommend incorporating calcium-rich foods into your diet, including dairy products and marine fish. Fluoride and calcium-rich foods can help remineralize and strengthen your teeth, keeping cavities and other dental issues at bay.

Even if your diet does not include fluoride-rich foods, your enamel can use minerals in the saliva to remineralize and strengthen itself. Although it is possible for a tooth to heal on its own, you should not use this as a justification for neglecting your oral health. Daily brushing, flossing, and wise dietary decisions can help keep your teeth healthy and white.

How to Remove or Treat Tooth Decay at Home

It is possible to remove or treat tooth decay at home, depending on the severity of the issue. For instance, below are some tips that can help you heal or reverse cavities:

• Avoid carbonated drinks and soda.
• Lower intake of sugary meals and drinks.
• Eat foods containing natural probiotics.
• Brush your teeth using an antibacterial toothpaste and mouthwash.
• Eat plenty of calcium-rich foods.
• Add Vitamin D, B, magnesium, and iron to your daily diet.
• Avoid beverages that could imbalance your mouth's pH, like tea or coffee.

Another way you can treat tooth decay at home is through a practice known as oil pulling. Typically, oil pulling is the process or practice of swilling coconut oil in your mouth and around your teeth. Although more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of this practice, it could boost your dental and oral health.

Aside from its antimicrobial properties, swilling oil in your mouth is believed to have a cleansing or saponification effect that helps reduce plaque attached to your teeth and the adhesion of bacteria. Oil pulling is a natural process with no side effects and could help you stay on top of your dental health. You can use sunflower or sesame oil if you do not have coconut oil.

How to Save a Badly Decayed Tooth

If your tooth decay is mild, the tips above could help you reverse it for the healthy and appealing smile you deserve. However, if your decay issue is severe, you will likely need a dentist's intervention for appropriate treatment. Your family dentist or the dentist you will choose can help save a badly or severely decayed tooth by providing any of the treatments listed below:

• Fillings.
• Crowns.
• Flouride treatments.
• Root canals.

Once you visit a dentist of your choice, he/she will detect decay or cavities by keenly examining your teeth and mouth to check for swollen and sensitive areas. X-rays can also help your dentist determine the extent of the tooth decay and the appropriate treatment.

In cases of grave dental decay, your dentist could recommend tooth extraction if it is impossible to save the tooth. Although we all want to grow old with natural teeth, severe tooth decay could necessitate this procedure to eliminate the problem and prevent re-infection.

If your dentist recommends a tooth extraction procedure, you do not have to fret because you can fill the gap created between your teeth with an artificial tooth (crown). However, your dentist must install a dental implant on the jawbone beneath the gap to act as roots for the custom-made crown you choose.

Reasons That Could Make Your Teeth Feel Weak

Several factors could make your teeth feel weak, such as:

• Dry mouth.
• Eating acidic snacks and drinking acidic beverages often.
• Frequent vomiting due to alcoholism or bulimia.
• Teeth grinding (bruxism).
• Brushing your teeth vigorously.
• The habit of biting your fingernails or chewing tobacco.

Generally speaking, even genetics could make your teeth prone to decay, which weakens them. However, when you experience any of the above conditions, you should consult with your dentist as soon as possible to help strengthen your teeth and prevent possible severe and costly dental problems down the road.

Take-Away Tips

Undoubtedly, teeth are some of the most important parts of our body. Aside from helping you chew food, which is the first step of the digestion process, teeth give you a bright and aesthetic smile. If you are looking for ways to keep your teeth white and healthy for the longest time possible, the above-explained tips could be helpful.

For the best and most reliable services you deserve, ensure the dentist you hire whenever you have a dental or health concern is qualified, experienced, reputable, licensed, and available.

Find a Dentist Near Me

Achieving a bright and celebrity-like smile does not have to be a challenging process. The above-explained tips can give you the knowledge you need to ensure your teeth are healthy and white throughout your lifetime for a bright smile.

If you have any dental health concerns or issues you need to discuss with a dentist, we invite you to call our reliable dentists at Northridge Advanced Dentistry at 818-701-3010 today. We will work with you and your family to ensure you have the healthy and bright smiles you deserve.