After you get teeth whitening from your dentist, it’s easy to feel as if your new smile will last forever. Your pearly whites finally live up to their nickname and look so shiny and clean — how could they return to their former yellow color? Even so, they can and will get stained again if you’re not careful. In fact, whitened teeth are more vulnerable to discoloration in the first 48 hours after treatment. That said, don’t eat these four foods for a while so your white smile will stay longer.
4 Foods to Avoid
Following a whitening treatment, your teeth will be extra sensitive to staining from certain meals. Some foods you should avoid are:
Highly Acidic Foods
Products with certain acids can harm the beautiful coloring of whitened teeth.
Your tooth enamel will be weakened from the bleach used in whiteners. Acidic foods could further weaken that enamel, leading to stains and increased sensitivity to hot or cold foods.
Examples of these items include citrus fruits (i.e., lemons, limes, oranges), tomatoes, pineapples, pickled foods, and processed meats.
Foods with Dyes
Foods with dyes can always stain teeth, but they’re especially likely to if eaten post-whitening. That goes for those with natural *and* artificial ones.
Popular products in this category are popsicles, candies, flavored potato chips, and sports drinks.
Dark Sauces
When deciding on safe foods for newly white teeth, a good rule is whether the item would stain a white shirt. Since dark-colored sauces would discolor that shirt, avoid them for the time being.
Some examples are tomato sauce, soy sauce, brown sauce, and mustard.
Dark-Colored Fruits & Vegetables
Just as dark sauces would discolor a white shirt, the same applies to dark-colored fruits and veggies.
That said, hold off on any berries, grapes, carrots, cherries, spinach, and other dark leafy greens.
Foods to Eat Instead
To substitute for the foods that could harm your whitened teeth, consider eating these instead:
- Rice
- Yogurt
- Scrambled eggs
- Porridge
- Bananas
- Coconut
- Bread
- Sushi
- Deli meats
- Rice pudding
Once a few days have passed since the first treatment, you can re-introduce staining foods into your diet. In contrast, indulging in them right after your dental visit will undo the time, effort, and money spent getting that new and bright smile.
As you can see, professional teeth whitening needs aftercare to succeed in the long-term. Talk to your dentist if you have other questions about preserving the procedure’s effects.
About the Practice
DentCare Dental Center is based in Sunnyside, NY. As led by Drs. Arthur Volker and Thomas Chung, its team delivers fast, precise, and comfortable dental care. To that end, the practice’s treatments span preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry, even including emergency dental services. It also uses the latest dental technology to ensure patients receive healthy and beautiful smiles. For more information or to book an appointment, reach the staff at their website or by phone at (718)-937-6750.