Three Eating/Drinking Habits That Help You Avoid Teeth Stains

Posted on: 13 July 2015

You've probably already heard that certain foods and beverages -- like candies, coffee, and wine -- can cause stains on your teeth if you consume them often. While it's best to avoid stain-causing fruit and beverages when you can, you can minimize the potential for stains when you consume them by adopting a few habits.

The following three habits will allow you to consume some of your favorite stain-causing foods and drinks without detracting from the appearance of your smile: 

Use a straw

If you can't resist wines, coffees, teas, or juices that are known for causing teeth stains, you might consider drinking them with a straw. When you use a straw, the liquid you're drinking doesn't have much of a chance to get at your teeth. Using a straw is especially protective for your upper front teeth -- the most important when it comes to achieving a white smile. 

It's unlikely that you're going to want to drink wine or coffee with a straw, at least not when you're in social situations. However, you should definitely get into the habit of drinking sodas or juice with a straw if you're concerned about teeth whiteness. 

Rinse with water or chew gum after eating and drinking

Ideally, you'll always be brushing and flossing after a meal. Of course, this isn't always possible. If you're unable to brush your teeth, you can at least swish some water briskly around your mouth to cleanse your teeth.

Swishing water around your mouth right after eating or drinking stain-causing foods or beverages will both prevent stains and protect the enamel on your teeth. Certain juices, like grapefruit juice, are highly acidic, and the acid in these juices is known to wear away at enamel. 

You can also chew sugarless gum to help cleanse your teeth. Chewing gum increases the amount of saliva in your mouth, and saliva has a cleaning effect on the gums, tongue, and teeth. 

Don't chew too long

Stain-causing foods will have more time to alter the color of your teeth if you chew on them a long time. When you're eating fruits and other foods with dark colors, you might want to limit the amount of time you keep them against your teeth. 

You also might want to swallow beverages quickly when you're drinking liquids that are known to stain teeth. While you might be tempted to savor the taste of whatever you're eating or drinking -- and you of course need to chew foods enough so that you don't risk choking -- swallowing quickly is important when it comes to consuming stain-causing substances.

For more information on avoiding stains, talk to a dentist, like those at Sunshine Dentistry.

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