Teeth Whitening 101: How to Get and Maintain White Teeth

Did you know that more than 14% of people in the United States alone have had their teeth whitened by a dental professional? In this day and age, everyone wants to have the perfect “Hollywood” smile. The highlight of the Hollywood smile is white teeth.

While one of the easiest ways to get white teeth is to get them professionally whitened, there are ways you can whiten your teeth (and keep them white) at home. However, there are some major do’s and don’ts when it comes to getting whiter teeth, and the first thing you should do is to start brushing your teeth more. Keep reading and learn more below.

Do: Brush Your Teeth More

Everyone knows that brushing your teeth is important for preventing tooth decay and cavities, but brushing your teeth is also important for keeping your teeth white. When you don’t brush your teeth, your dental health falls into the clutches of the various strains of bacteria that live in your mouth.

Whenever you eat something and don’t brush your teeth, these bacteria will eat whatever food particles are left in your mouth and turn them into a pretty nasty waste product: acid.

Over time, this acid will start to eat away at your tooth enamel. Even though tooth enamel is one of the hardest substances in the human body, it still doesn’t stand a chance when it’s exposed to a bacterial acid bath. Your shiny white enamel will start to become dull.

Your teeth might even become sensitive because your tooth enamel has become so thin. Cavities will also start to form, creating dark brown spots or even holes in your teeth. In severe cases, if tooth decay gets bad enough, some people might need to have some of their teeth removed or covered with crowns.

More than that, by ignoring good dental hygiene, the particles of everything you eat and drink will start to rub off on your tooth enamel, creating discoloration and stains. As long as you brush your teeth at least twice every day, you won’t need to deal with these problems. Using a whitening toothpaste might help as well.

A classic way to whiten your teeth by brushing is to brush with baking soda. Baking soda itself will not actually make your teeth white. Rather, because baking soda is made of many hard, small particles, these particles will be able to scrape away at any stains you may have on your teeth.

Don’t: Consume Foods and Drinks That Stain Your Teeth

Many people can’t live without coffee. It is the thing they need to wake up in the morning and start their day. If you are one of these people, don’t be too afraid because you won’t need to give up coffee entirely in favor of your white teeth.

However, you may need to cut back a bit, depending on how much coffee you drink every day. Black coffee tends to be the worst for your teeth (even though coffee mixed with milk or creamer can also cause stains). Coffee, no matter how smooth it is, often contains little particles of coffee beans.

When you don’t brush your teeth after drinking coffee, a residue of coffee will remain on your teeth. The color of the coffee will soon start to seep into your teeth. Once your tooth enamel absorbs the coffee color, it will be hard to remove.

Red wine and dark fruit juices such as grape or cranberry juice can also cause the same problem. These liquids also contain little particles of fruit such as grapes that can stick to your teeth and stain them over time. This doesn’t mean you have to stay away from red wine, fruit, and coffee forever.

As long as you brush your teeth after consuming these products, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about staining your teeth. Limiting the consumption of these products will also help.

Don’t: Eat Too Much Sugar or Smoke

Sugar is perhaps the worst thing you can put on your teeth. As mentioned before, the bacteria that live in your mouth love to consume food particles, especially sugar particles. As a result, they will then start to produce acid that will damage your tooth enamel.

But the damage that sugar can cause doesn’t stop there. Many sugary substances often contain dyes or acids that can discolor your teeth. For example, soda is a big culprit when it comes to dental stains and poor oral health.

Soft drinks and energy drinks are nothing but carbonated sugar. Many people have the bad habit of sipping on soda or energy drinks throughout the day. This is a terrible idea because you will essentially be bathing your teeth in sugar and acid all day.

Not only can this cause cavities and tooth decay, but tooth discoloration is also a problem that will soon follow. Many sodas are dark in color, and this dark, syrupy color can eventually stain your teeth. Even if your preferred soda is clear, it still may discolor your teeth through its ability to degrade tooth enamel.

Sports drinks can be just as bad for your teeth. Many of them are loaded with sugar and contain bright dyes. If you’ve ever chugged a sports drink, you should know how easily it can stain your lips and tongue. Just imagine what it might do to your teeth.

Smoking is also quite bad for your teeth. Smoking once in a while might not do much to your teeth, but if you smoke several cigarettes every day, this might be a problem for your white teeth. Nicotine tends to turn white teeth into a dull yellow or brown shade.

While you don’t need to necessarily quit smoking, limiting the habit can help.

Do: Try Home Whitening Kits

Avoiding coffee and using baking soda to brush your teeth will only get you so far. If you’ve tried everything listed above and still aren’t happy with the color of your teeth, it might be time to use a teeth whitening kit. Teeth whitening kits are often quite affordable.

More than that, you’ll be able to get the results you want in a relatively short period of time. But do home whitening kits really work, or are they just a big sham?

Teeth whitening kits come in many forms, but most forms contain chemicals that are able to remove stains from your teeth and whiten your enamel. They often come in the form of trays that you can apply to your teeth and keep in place for a while. Some whitening kits may even have LED lights that can help with the color of your teeth.

For example, a common type of whitening kit involves a tray that is already filled with a whitening gel. This gel will contain certain whitening substances such as carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide. Like baking soda, hydrogen peroxide is a classic way to whiten teeth.

That’s because hydrogen peroxide is actually able to bleach your teeth. When you use these trays, you will keep these whitening chemicals in contact with your teeth for a specified period of time. You can take them out whenever you feel like it.

When you want to use the kit again, you can add more whitening gel to your tray and put it back in your mouth. Or, you might need a new tray that is already filled with gel. After about one or two weeks, you should start to notice visible results, and your teeth should be much whiter than before.

Where to Get Your Whitening Kits

If you like the idea of trying a whitening kit for your teeth, you might be wondering where you should get yours. After all, not all whitening kits are made the same, and some might be better than others. Fortunately, you can get a high-quality teeth whitening kit from ALIGNERCO for free.

You might be wondering if the offer is too good to be true. Not at all! As soon as you start a clear aligner treatment with ALIGNERCO, you will get a teeth whitening kit free of charge.

But it doesn’t stop there. If you like the whitening kit, you can always buy more from ALIGNERCO’s website. Not only will you have white teeth, but you will have straight teeth, too after you’re done with the clear aligner treatment.

With both treatments combined, your teeth will be more beautiful than ever.

Getting and Maintaining White Teeth

Getting white teeth doesn’t have to be impossible. All you have to do is put in a little extra effort to keep your teeth clean. If you want fast results, you can try a home teeth whitening kit or get one from ALIGNERCO to go along with your clear aligner treatment.

To learn more, see what we have to offer here.