Terri Ramsey Beavers You should take pride in your teeth because your smile is one of your most powerful assets. However, teeth don’t stay pristine for long. Everything you put in your mouth, from food to beverages to assorted items, tends to stain your teeth with different colors.
This isn’t usually a problem, but it can affect your confidence and how people perceive you. If you want to look your best online, whether for a virtual job interview or because you’re hanging out with friends, it may be best to try to clean up your teeth. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money by going to a dental hygienist, you may want to learn about food that can help brighten your teeth naturally.
What Stains Your Teeth?
There are different substances that can stain your teeth. Each food and substance can also color your teeth in different shades. You may find it useful to identify which food colors your teeth a specific color. These are known as extrinsic teeth stains, meaning they come from factors outside your body and teeth. These types of stains can be easily removed with professional help or with toothbrushes with ultrasonic whitening capabilities.
Learning why your teeth are a certain color can help you avoid panicking and teach you which food to avoid to keep your teeth looking pretty.
Naturally Whitening Food
Just like there are foods that can discolor your teeth, there are also tasty morsels that can whiten your teeth naturally. Below are some foods that can help coax the gleam from your teeth.
Watermelons are rich in a substance known as malic acid. This substance has natural bleaching properties, helping alleviate heavy stains from your teeth. Watermelon fruit also has a slightly fibrous texture that might help scrub stains from your teeth. Malic acid can also make your mouth water, producing more saliva helps wash away debris and lighten stains.
If watermelons aren’t in season or you don’t like them, you could eat strawberries instead. These luscious berries also contain malic acid, although in fewer quantities. Eating a few strawberries can help your mouth produce needed saliva, which not only protects your teeth from discoloration, but it can also prevent tooth decay.
Dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese contain lactic acid, a substance that can help lighten the color of your enamel. Enamel is the hardened shell that covers your teeth, protecting its soft, meaty inside from corruption. Dairy products also contain casein, a milk protein that encourages calcium phosphate to grow. This helps repair cavities in teeth and stops plaque from accumulating. Just be careful to brush your teeth thoroughly after consuming dairy products. They can be perfect hosts for the bacteria that also help corrode teeth, not to mention smell bad after a while.
Teeth are comprised of different layers, with the enamel forming the outermost strata. However, the enamel itself is also covered in the pellicle. This is a layer of proteins made of saliva components. The pellicle layer helps shield your teeth from corrosive substances. But pellicle can be very absorbent, leaching pigments from your last meal. You can remove the pellicle layer by eating pineapple.
Pineapple contains bromelains, a corrosive enzyme that can help break down the proteins in your mouth. Bromelain is responsible for the tingly sensation you get when you eat pineapple.
Your teeth are precious assets, helping to boost your confidence. Protecting them from stains and discoloration also protects you from low self-esteem and poor self-image. Eat the right meals and practice basic dental hygiene, so your teeth look pristine even without a cosmetic treatment.