I’m a dentist – the daily mistake you’re making that’s causing yellow teeth & the best ways to whiten them from home
MANY people want dazzlingly white teeth, especially with the likes of Love Island stars and A-listers all rocking pearly smiles.
Thankfully you don’t need to fly to Turkey to get a false set of veneers if you are on a budget.
Dental expert Dr Shaadi Manouchehri has shared her top tips on how to avoid having yellow teeth with just a few simple habits.
In a clip on her @dr.shaadi.manouchehri account, she shared how you should avoid brushing your teeth after some surprising moments.
Dr Shaadi said: “There are three times that you should never ever ever brush your teeth. I’m a dentist, and this is the only time you’ll catch me telling you not to brush your teeth. Let’s get into it.”
DON’T BRUSH AFTER BEING SICK
The first thing you usually want to do after vomiting is brush your teeth, but the expert warned against this.
She explained: “This is probably all you want to do after you’ve vomited, but actually, the contents of the stomach are extremely acidic and your teeth are made up of minerals.
“So, when the contents of the stomach have come into the mouth, then the mouth is very acidic, and if you brush straight away, you’re rubbing that acid onto the teeth even more.
“So, wait at least 30 to 60 minutes before you brush your teeth.
“What you can do is rinse out with some mouthwash to begin with and drink some water just to help neutralise the acid quicker.”
AVOID BRUSHING AFTER COFFEE
Dr Shaadi said you should also avoid brushing your teeth after coffee, due to it also being acidic.
She said if you add milk and sugar it can make the acidity even worse.
The dental expert continued: “Exact same concept. If you go and brush your teeth straight away, you’re rubbing the acid onto the tooth and wearing the tooth away.
“Wait at least 30 to 60 minutes. You don’t actually have to brush your teeth, just rinse out with some mouthwash or drink water.”
DON’T BRUSH AFTER BREAKFAST
The third example she gave for avoiding brushing teeth was after breakfast – and you should in fact do it before.
She explained: “Brush them beforehand because if you brush straight away you’re going to be damaging your enamel.
“Actually, when you first wake up in the morning you have quite a lot of bacteria in the mouth and that needs to be brushed before you have your breakfast.”
FOOD TO AVOID
As well as tea and coffee, fizzy drinks, citrus fruit drinks and red wine can also cause teeth staining.
This is down to their high sugary and/or acidic properties, which can be abrasive.
You should also be wary of foods such as tomato-based sauces, curries and berries, which can cause erosion to your enamel.
BEWARE OF HOME KITS
Many people recommend finding toothpastes with ingredients such as baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to help with whitening – but you should be careful.
Even though tonnes of celebrities rave about them, home whitening kits, including strips, will not work as well as the real deal.
They can also be harmful, because unless a gum shield is personally fitted to your mouth, the bleaching ingredient can leak onto the gums and lips.
If that’s not enough to put you off, “strips erode the outer layer of the teeth making them more sensitive and susceptible to decay,” Hussein and Hassan Dalghous, twin dentists and founders of Yorkshire Dental Suite, said.
“In addition, many non-professional blue light products temporarily dehydrate the teeth which can cause damage and only offer minimal short term results.”
Legally, over the counter products can only contain a maximum amount of 0.1 per cent hydrogen peroxide – the stuff that makes your teeth white – while professional kits can have up to six per cent.
Products bought online may not fit UK regulations, and have dangerously high levels of bleach in them.
TEA IS WORSE
Coffee is no doubt a drink to be limited when it comes to keeping the teeth gleaming.
But contrary to popular belief, it is not the worst offender – tea is!
“Both contain tannins, which stain your teeth,” said Ellie Busby, a registered nutritionist at Vojo.
“There’s some good news for latte lovers though, because adding milk to your tea and coffee is thought to reduce this effect.”
Chris Moffatt, dental expert at Kent Express, said: “Coffee generally has a lower tannin content than tea.
“However, it alters the pH of your mouth, making your teeth more vulnerable to other stains.”
“Tannins aren’t only found in breakfast tea, but also in green tea and many herbal teas.”
Ellie suggested redbush tea which is naturally caffeine and tannin-free and won’t stain your teeth.
Dentist-approved teeth whitening tips
ERIN Fraundorf, DMD, MSD, owner of BOCA Orthodontic + Whitening Studio in Missouri, shared her top tips for whiter teeth.
Seek whitening treatment from a professional. It’s often stronger and will be the most effective so you don’t waste your money on a product that doesn’t work or may harm you. You also only get one set of teeth, so it’s best not to experiment on them.
Consider the cause of the staining. There are numerous causes for teeth to have a yellow or brown tint. Be sure to get evaluated and diagnosed by a professional to ensure you receive the best treatment for your stains. Not all stains are the same so they may require different treatments.
Consider your lifestyle, smile goals, and budget. When choosing a whitening treatment that is best for you, consider multiple factors when designing a custom plan. Some people like homework to whiten at home, some prefer in-office treatments only, some need to get really bright really fast — for a wedding, for example — whereas others would like a more gentle, gradual, consistent approach to whitening.
Ease into it. Start integrating teeth whitening into your routine gradually to get your teeth accustomed to it and you can closely monitor your level of sensitivity to regulate how frequently you can whiten.
Try to prevent. Make tiny changes to your lifestyle in an effort to prevent staining from penetrating your teeth. For example, sip staining beverages through a straw, swish with plain water after drinking anything staining, and pick flat water over sparkling whenever possible.
Water floss to help in between the teeth stains. Blast away stubborn stains in between your teeth with a water flosser, because toothbrush bristles can only reach so much of your tooth surface.
GO PRO
Teeth whitening at the dentist is the most successful because the bleaching gel contains the highest level of hydrogen peroxide.
With a dentist, a gum shield will be moulded to your teeth. You then apply the bleaching gel to the shields and wear it on the teeth overnight, or for several hours in the day.
After roughly two to four weeks, depending on the shade desired, the teeth will be brighter.
It is not offered for free on the NHS except for medical reasons. Therefore it’ll privately cost between £150 and £700 depending on the treatment offered by the dentist.
Unfortunately it is not a one-off procedure – it will need to be repeated to maintain the same level of brightness. But the fee is smaller for “top-ups”.
Any dentist can whiten teeth as long as they’re registered with the General Dental Council.