Is It Possible to Prevent Teeth Stains?

The point of preventive dental care, including your daily dental hygiene routine, is to protect your smile by preventing some of the more common types of dental problems from developing. For instance, both tooth decay and gum disease can have many contributing factors, but they form specifically when oral bacteria are allowed to infect your teeth or gums (respectively). While you can largely prevent these concerns, there are some less minor developments that you might not be able to. One of these is the gradual staining of your teeth after years of constant use and exposure to foods and beverages.

How stains commonly develop

Some forms of teeth stains and discoloration are preventable. For instance, those that occur due to the development of other concerns, such as a tooth decay, can be prevented by keeping your teeth consistently healthy. However, some stains can form on your teeth for more benign reasons, such as the accumulation of colorful molecules from your food and beverages over the years. While this accumulation doesn’t typically threaten the health of your teeth, the stains that develop can dramatically impact your smile’s appearance. Fortunately, you can usually erase these stains and brighten your smile conveniently with minimally invasive teeth-whitening. You can also slow the development of these stains to keep your smile brighter and healthier-looking for longer.

What you can do every day to slow it down

• Clean every inch of your teeth – Because common teeth stains are the product of things accumulating on your teeth, cleaning them carefully and consistently is a key to keeping them stain-free for longer. When you brush and floss, be sure to clean every inch of your teeth to remove oral bacteria and food particles so they don’t linger too long.
• Rinse them after eating or drinking – Brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day keeps them clean for the most part, but you can do more by rinsing them whenever possible after eating or drinking something. Rinsing your teeth with water will help remove food particles and substances from your beverage faster, reducing their chances of affecting your teeth’s appearance.
• Take care of your tooth enamel – Cleaning your teeth is important, but more specifically, taking care of your tooth enamel will help slow down the staining of your teeth surfaces. For example, in addition to cleaning your teeth routinely, you can strengthen them by eating plenty of calcium and other healthy nutrients.

Keep your smile brighter for longer

Some teeth stains aren’t completely preventable, but you can slow down their development and keep your smile brighter for longer with these few tips. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Gentle Smiles in Dallas, TX, today at 972-329-7645 (972-329-SMILE).