Your teeth, pearly whites are one of the most precious gems you could always own. To keep the whites luminous, it’s not always oral hygiene but also food items that need to be carefully monitored. A white smile adds to your appearance making you feel confident.
The enamel, the outer surface of the teeth is the semi-transparent glossy substance that gives shone to your teeth. The enamel protects the dentin, the yellow –hued layer that is mostly made of calcium and phosphate, which gives the stained look. Though darkening teeth and eroding enamel is a natural part of aging, but you can always avoid staining on most part. Some of the things you eat and drink every day can also be staining your teeth.
Here is our list of foods that stain your teeth:
Citrus and Acidic Foods
Acidic foods, citrus fruits and tomatoes are the major contributors of leaving a yellowish tinge to your teeth. Even though these foods are nutrient-packed, they erode the enamel, exposing the layer of yellowish hue. Your diet needs these ingredients but to avoid their effect on teeth color, chew and gulp rather than letting them coat the teeth surface. Rinse your mouth properly after every meal.
Tea
Though a healthy drink for your body, it is definitely not the best choice for keeping your teeth white. We are talking about tea. Loaded with antioxidants named flavonoids, the drink has powerful ingredients that impact the coloration of the outer covering of your teeth, called enamel. Dentists say the brew, especially the basic black variety can cause more stains than coffee. Herbal and white teas, the healthier varieties does the same.
[Also Read: Tea is good or bad for health?]
Sauces
Delights for your tongue but one of the main food that stain your teeth are sauces. The spicy, colorful varieties, especially the deeply colored sauces, soy, tomato, and also curry cause serious effect of staining your pearls. Switch to light-colored or creamy sauces, for saving the whiteness of your teeth. The occasional consumption of the rich sauces is permissible but even then rinse soon after eating and brush your teeth.
Sports Drinks
Acidic foods and drinks affect your teeth the most. The sports or energy drinks available in the markets erodes the enamel, setting the stage for stains and the most difficult of them. Drinking water during workouts is a better choice. Even if you have an infrequent drink, do wash it away the drink with water. Rinse your mouth properly clearing away the ingredients from your enamel.
Wine
If a food or drink can stain a tablecloth, it can seriously stain your teeth. Wine, both the red and white varieties are seen as the major contributors of stain on your teeth. Red wine is acidic and has a dark, rich color, and seriously discolors teeth. A lesser known fact, but anyway true is that the white wine which has no strong color has even more acid and will damage the whiteness of your teeth. An occasional glass of wine has health benefits, therefore whenever you have a glass, definitely rinse of your mouth.
Soda, Cola, and Other Carbonated Drinks
Carbonated drinks, sodas and colas come in every shade and are loaded with acids and dyes. The dark colored ones are the most harmful for your teeth but even the light-colored ones can lead to serious stains. The added flavors in the drinks are chemicals that eats away your enamel, giving a discolored and stained look.
Berries and Fruits
Berries are loaded with healthy ingredients but these rich colored delights influence the teeth enamel, resulting in stains. Blueberries, blackberries, cherries, pomegranates, and other vibrant colored fruits can stain teeth. So can the juices and pies made from them. Pale-colored fruits, like white grapes and white cranberries, are less likely to cause stains with their rich juices, but they too have higher levels of acid that can soften the enamel coating.
Candy and Sweets
The sugar loaded candy and sweets are damage causing foods to teeth. Not only cavities, your favorite sweet like hard candy, chewing gum, or a Popsicle that makes your tongue change colors, stains your teeth. Occasional treats are good to go as long rinsing, brushing and other aspects of oral hygiene are well maintained.
Food that help avoid stain your teeth
After a list of all serious stain-causing food, here are some foods that help avoid stains and naturally whiten your teeth.
Fibrous Fruits
High-fiber fruits, like pears and apples, contain ingredients that boost saliva flow, which ultimately help keep teeth and mouth clean. The fiber content in these food removes stains by scrubbing the surface of the teeth. Keeping aside the cleaning properties, these fruits have a high level of sugar, therefore it is still necessary to rinse your mouth and brush your teeth and not let it stay in the mouth than needed.
Baking Soda
The white powdery baking helps whiten teeth naturally. Simply wet your toothbrush and dip into the powder and get your teeth glistening. Though the whitening properties are appealing, don’t make it an everyday habit. The abrasive properties of baking soda that whiten teeth on overuse may cause damage to the enamel of your teeth.
Strawberries
Strawberry contain malic acid, which has a whitening effect on teeth. Research also reveals unlike the other foods that whiten teeth but also cause damage, strawberries have no such consequence. It removes plaque and but does not penetrate the enamel to cause damage and that also means it does not have long term whitening result.
Cheese
The savory cheese is your best buddy to delight your sense, mouth and now also teeth. If you would like a delicious food to fight cavities, stains and other dental problems, then cheese s what you should eat. Research suggests that cheese increases the pH level in the mouth, which brings down the risk for cavities. It helps reduce stains as it does not damage your enamel and does not let any buildup of any kind of stain.
Water
The most important ingredient for life, water has unlimited benefits for a human body. Water does more than just keep you hydrated. Research suggests that drinking plenty of H20 keeps the teeth and gums healthy, saving you form most dental problems. Fluoridated water in particular helps battle tooth decay and stains.
[Also Read: 11 Easy Ways to Get More Water]
Nuts
Nuts has a long list of health benefits, and to one more to the list is its assistance on strengthening teeth. The high protein content, protects our teeth and keep them strong. Chewing nuts stimulate saliva production, so they also help clean the mouth. Like everything good, excess of nuts is not going to do any good. Moreover even any little particle is left behind it will result in tooth decay, cavities and other dental problems. Have a bunch of nuts but brush your teeth and rinse to remove all remains.
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