With the holidays upon us, your calendar is probably packed with events and parties! If your smile is looking a bit dull, now is the perfect time to tweak your routine to brighten things up a bit! Of course, professional whitening will get your pearly whites sparkling like diamonds, but there are also some little things you can do that make a big impact.
1. Use a whitening toothpaste like Sensodyne Repair &Protect Whitening Toothpaste. All whitening toothpastes will lighten the color of your teeth. Sensodyne is the one I recommend to my patients because it is the most gentle on your enamel. They say pain is beauty, but it’s certainly not beautiful to aggressively scrub the enamel off your teeth! Sensodyne will gently whiten your teeth while conserving and protecting your enamel.
2. Scrub the in-between of your teeth with Coco Floss. If you’ve ever whitened your teeth with home products, you’ve probably noticed that the areas between your teeth remain stained. This is because the over-the-counter whitening products don’t get into the nooks and crannies and most flosses are really smooth just for clearing food and soft plaque. There are at lease 20 different flosses on the market, and this new product is by far my favorite! Coco floss is a woven floss coated with coconut oil. The woven design is thicker and more textured than traditional waxed flosses so you can actually feel it scrubbing between your teeth. The coconut oil is also a natural whitener. The special design and the coating make it excellent at lightening up those little spaces between your teeth!
3. Avoid dark foods and drinks while trying to whiten. My biggest tip to patients while whitening is “If it’ll stain a white shirt, don’t eat it!” The whitening process opens up the enamel pores to gently lift stains. While the pores are open, you should avoid filling it back in with other dark stains. Makes sense right? We’re talking barbecue sauce, tomato-based sauces and soups, etc. I also recommend using a straw with coffee and tea to keep the dark liquid from hitting the front teeth.
4. Get your teeth cleaned! Your hygienist will meticulously clean out between your teeth, around your gums, then polish them up to their finest sparkle. You get your nails buffed and polished when you want to look your best, why not your teeth!
5. If you want some serious whitening and can carve out a few hours, get your teeth professionally whitened. I talk about two professional whitening systems in this post and Zoom! is the one that will achieve what over-the-counter products can do,,, just in a few hours!
Happy Holidays to you all!
Dr. Brittany
