Your teeth help you when you talk and chew, and they can also make or break your appearance and even your relationships with others. That is why it’s essential to maintain healthy, pearl-white teeth.
10 easy steps to achieve white teeth
1. Change your diet
If you love smoking, drinking liquor, or even having a bottle of soda or a cup of black tea, having yellowish teeth should not come as a surprise. However, avoid these and other dark foods if you want perfect white teeth. A simple reminder is that if your food or drink is unclear, there is a higher chance it will stain them.
Remember to brush immediately after eating or drinking if you cannot live without a teeth-staining diet. You can also try using an over-the-counter bleaching agent or your teeth whitened at your dentist’s clinic. Finally, eat an apple or a banana for a sweet and convenient way to clean your teeth. The inside of a banana peel is excellent at removing dental plaque and keeping teeth white, even for smokers and drinkers.
2. Try eating ‘detergent’ foods
Including “detergent” foods can help you achieve whiter teeth. These foods are often crisp or firm and help clean your teeth as you eat them. Apples are one kind of “detergent” food, or what you can call nature’s toothbrush. Food choices that keep your teeth white and healthy are raw carrots, strawberries, celery, oranges, yogurt, baking soda, and even popcorn.
You can eat these “detergent” foods after your meal to achieve the best results, especially when you can’t brush right after eating.
3. Keep your toothbrush in check
You don’t need to replace your toothbrush every week, but at least change it every two to three months. If not, you’ll be cultivating your unique bacterial culture in your mouth.
When you brush your teeth, some dentists recommend that you angle your toothbrush at 45 degrees against your gums and gently brush them in a circular motion instead of making a back-and-forth motion. This helps avoid risking your gum surface receding and exposing the root surface.
Other dentists also advise holding the toothbrush like you’d grip a pencil to avoid scrubbing your teeth too hard. And in all cases, brush the outside and inside of your teeth, their chewing surfaces, tongue, and cheeks.
4. Clean your tongue
Aside from brushing, it is also a great and healthy way to start your morning by brushing and using a tongue scraper to remove any plaque buildup. Doing so will also help refresh your breath since bacteria thriving on your tongue is one of the leading causes of bad breath. In addition, when you properly scrape your tongue daily, you decrease the growth rate of harmful bacteria in your mouth.
5. Apple cider vinegar can be your new best friend
Try diluting a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with water and gargle the solution every morning. The vinegar will help remove stains from last night’s meal and kill the bacteria that are starting to build up.
In the long run, you will have fresher breath and whiter teeth. Just don’t forget to brush your teeth as usual after gargling.
6. Brush with either baking soda or powdered charcoal
Using baking soda weekly or activated charcoal for five to seven days can work wonders for your teeth. Just brush like you usually do, but use baking soda or powdered charcoal this time.
Baking soda and charcoal can remove stains that characteristically bind to the surface of your teeth from drinking coffee and tea or eating foods that color them. As a result, you can get whiter teeth and a fresher mouth.
7. Floss anytime, anywhere
Practice flossing without needing a mirror so you can floss on your way to work, at your desk, before important meetings, and in bed. You might think it’s embarrassing to floss in public, but it’s even more humiliating when you talk to someone while there is something between your teeth or when you have bad breath.
It is better to learn the skill of flossing anytime, anywhere, especially during emergencies, than to deal with bad oral hygiene.
8. Keep your breath fresh
Having healthy teeth also means maintaining fresh breath. Try licking your palm and sniffing it before it dries to check if you still have fresh breath. If you get a scent of something there, it’s time to take one or two sugar-free mint candies.
If you prefer using mouthwash, get alcohol-free ones since alcohol can cause your mouth to dry, and a dry mouth is, unfortunately, more vulnerable to bacteria. Another way to avoid dry mouth is to hydrate regularly. Ensure you always have your bottle of water to keep you fresh.
9. Regularly brush
No adult should be reminded to clean their teeth. But unfortunately, some people forget to brush regularly, no matter how important it is. Dentists say the best time to brush is first thing in the morning and before returning to bed at night. This is because your saliva dries up at night and can no longer keep plaque off your teeth. If left without brushing, the plaque might cause cavities, which is not good.
So, it is best to clean your teeth before going to bed to get rid of any plaque that might have built up during the day. It is also crucial to brush when you first get out of bed to remove all the plaque and germs that accumulated during the night, lessening the chances of having morning breath.
10. Don’t grind or clench your teeth
Many people unknowingly grind or clench their teeth when put under stressful circumstances. Sometimes, they also do this while sleeping. Aside from causing sore facial muscles, clenching and grinding can chip and wear teeth. If you are one of the people who experience any of these problems, then it’s best to ask your dentist how they can help. They might also offer you a dental plan to cover this issue.
Author’s bio
Pooria Shahin is a dentist based in Brooklyn, New York. In 2009, he earned a degree in dental surgery from Columbia University. After just a few years, he received an Outstanding Practitioner award and recognition for his contribution to cosmetic surgery. Pooria is president at 1st Impression Dental, leading a team of skilled and passionate dentists who provide patients with top-notch dental care.
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