Do you notice those people who can instantly brighten a room with their smile?  Their teeth are so bright and white you have to wonder how they do it.  Are they born with naturally white teeth?  Do they use teeth whitening products or treatments?  Or do they keep their teeth white and bright through good old fashioned hard work?  Chances are they’ve got all three factors working for them.   We can’t help with the genetic side of things, but we do offer teeth whitening services at both of our offices and below we’ve listed some of the best practices that you can do at home to make others envy your beautiful white smile.

 

1. Choose the Right Foods

Avoidance is the best starting point for a bright white smile, so do what you can to avoid food and beverages that can stain your teeth.  Pop, tea and coffee and red wine all contain chromogens, which are intensely colourful molecules that bond to the enamel of your teeth.  Over time these chemicals can build up, making your teeth look dull and stained.  Smoking is also a leading cause of teeth staining as tobacco (including chewing tobacco) contains tar, which also builds up on teeth over time.

While there are foods that you should avoid to keep a healthy, beautiful smile, there are also foods that you can include in your diet that will help keep your teeth white.  Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is not only good for your health, but these types of foods also contain helpful compounds that can neutralize the harmful acids in your mouth and increase saliva flow to help flush food particles from around your teeth.  They also actually act as gentle abrasives when you chew them, helping to physically break up and remove stains from your teeth.

2. Practice Good Oral Hygiene

Obviously, you have to be diligent about brushing and flossing your teeth.  You should brush your teeth at least in the morning after you’ve had breakfast and the last thing before you go to bed at night.  If possible, you should also try to brush after lunch and after dinner, although this isn’t always easy or possible.  You should floss at least once a day, ideally at night.  Brushing and flossing removes bacteria from your mouth that produce harmful acids that can damage and discolour your teeth and also eliminates the buildup of food particles and plaque.

3. Natural Remedies (Three to try)

– Oil Pulling -An Indian Folk Remedy

Oil pulling is meant to improve oral hygiene and remove toxins from the body. The practice involves swishing oil around in your mouth to remove bacteria, which can turn into plaque and cause your teeth to look yellow.

Traditionally, Indians used sunflower or sesame oil for oil pulling, but any oil will work with coconut being a favourite as it has a pleasant taste. It also has a high level of lauric acid, which is known for it’s ability to reduce inflammation and kill bacteria.

A few studies have shown that daily oil pulling reduces bacteria in the mouth, along with plaque and gingivitis.

– Brushing with Baking Soda

Baking soda has natural whitening properties, which is why it’s a popular ingredient in commercial toothpaste. It’s a mild abrasive that can help scrub away surface stains on teeth but also creates an alkaline environment in your mouth, which helps ward off bacteria growing.

This is not a remedy that will whiten your teeth overnight, and it won’t get the deepest, whitest clean to your teeth but over time you will notice an improvement. To use this remedy, mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 2 teaspoons of water and brush your teeth with the paste. You can do this a few times per week.

– Eat Fruits and Vegetables

A diet high in fruits and vegetables may be good for both your body and your teeth. While they’re no substitute for brushing them, crunchy, raw fruits and vegetables can help rub plaque away as you chew.

Whitening your teeth with a strawberry or pineapple and baking soda mixture is a natural remedy that has been made popular by celebrities.

Proponents of this method claim that the malic acid and bromelain found separately in these two fruits will remove discoloration on your teeth, while the baking soda will buff away stains. This remedy has not been completely backed up by science but hey, if the celebrities do it it must work right?

Important to remember, eating the fruit alone won’t result in teeth whitening and combining the fruit with the baking soda is supposed to work over time but we haven’t tested that theory!

Although we recommend visiting your dentist for your overall tooth care we understand that you may want to go it alone first. These are some options for you and we would love to hear from you how effective they were. The worst thing that can happen is you develop some healthy habits that will benefit your overall health and we are all about promoting that!

4. Visit Your Dentist Regularly

Of course, we always encourage people to include regular trips to the dentist as part of their regular dental health efforts.  We can help keep your teeth in tip top shape by removing plaque from those hard-to-reach areas, removing the build-up of unsightly stains and making sure your gums, tongue and the rest of your mouth is happy and healthy.

We also specialize in teeth whitening services.  While we do offer a number of teeth whitening services, we are excited to offer Philip’s Zoom Whitening.  This is a fast, safe and easy teeth whitening treatment that is proven to last for a long time.  With a single visit to our office that will take less than two hours you will see a dramatically whiter smile.

 

If you want to be that person who lights up a room while their vibrant and bright smile then follow the best practices that we’ve presented above.  Or if you’re looking for a bit of a head start, arrange a teeth whitening visit at either of our two offices in Milton ON or in Scarborough ON right away, and unleash your beautiful smile!

Orion Dental is a full-service family dentist with offices conveniently located in Milton and Scarborough. We offer dental services for the entire family, and with our bright colourful waiting rooms and crafts to keep your children busy while they wait, we live up to our reputation of being The Gentle Dentist! Call our Milton office at (905) 636 – 9770 or our Scarborough office at (416) 291 – 0306 and book an appointment today!