Common Teeth-Staining Food and Drinks

Maintaining your pearly whites entail constant effort, and might even require that you refrain from consuming perhaps some of your favorite food and drinks. Here are some of the more notorious teeth strainers:

Wine

Sure, drinking wine might be good for the heart, but it is absolutely bad for your teeth if you’re looking to maintain their whiteness. Both red and white wine are notorious for staining teeth, as they contain specific staining components like chromogens and tannins.

Tea

Tea is a much better alternative than wine, right? Wrong. Darker-colored teas like English Breakfast and Earl Grey are the ones you should avoid if you want to keep your teeth’s whiteness intact. You could opt for green, white, or herbal teas if you can’t ditch that good cup of tea at all during the day.

Cola

Cola is acidic and rich in chromogen, the same staining component found in wine. Even light-colored soft-drinks aren’t safe alternatives either. It has been found that carbonated beverages possess a similar acidity to battery acid.

Popsicles or slushies

Sure, they’re good for hot summer days. But remember if a certain food stains your lips and tongue, it can stain your teeth as well.

Sports drinks

You might want to cut down a bit on those Gatorades or Powerades if you’re the athletic type as sports drinks are acidic enough to soften tooth enamel, setting the stage for staining.

Caring for your Mouth after Dental Implants

Like most surgical procedures, getting dental implants call for extra care and attention, at least for the first few weeks as the surgery heals and as you get used to having a metal root deep in your gum. Always ask your dentist for recovery tips and follow them conscientiously. Here are a few things you might hear from your dental professional.

Diet

Don’t drink anything hot nor eat anything at all during the first day while the local anesthetic wears off. Stick to soft foods for the first few weeks as well, because the implant might not be able to efficiently bond with your jawbone. If you’re drinking anything, don’t swill the cold liquid on the affected area.

Pain

Know that the surgery area might ache and be sore for a few days following your treatment, so ask your doctor for prescription painkillers, and be sure to take it (and keep it in the minimum stated dose, too). Instead of pumping up your painkiller intake, call your doctor if the pain isn’t subsiding.

Lifestyle

If you are a heavy smoker, you need to curb your use—at least, until after the implant has healed. Alcohol consumption and constant stress can also burn you out and keep your body’s immune system from functioning properly, so you should consider adjusting your lifestyle until your dentist says that you can resume with your usual lifestyle habits.

Sailing through with Dental Implantation

Let’s say you’re in need of some corrective solutions for a couple of your lost teeth. A consultation with your cosmetic dentist may end in recommendations to undergo dental implantation, or the installation of titanium screws where the teeth once were. While it’s perfectly normal to be apprehensive of such a procedure, your dentist can convince you of many reasons it can work for you in the long run.

Keeping the Teeth On

Dental implants are meant to be the replacement roots for your lost teeth. Their prime benefit is to preserve and reinforce the jawbone by fusing the titanium with it, thus regaining its foundation over time. Given proper maintenance and oral care, the implants may stay on for the rest of your life.

Better Communications and Bite

You may have some friends who had to fidget every time the dentures got out of position due to various circumstances, leading to issues with speech. Dental implants function like regular teeth, allowing for safer interaction with other people. They also restore your full ability to experience food after an episode with dentures.

Installing implants through your dental practitioner will open a new field of possibilities. The question is: are you ready to seize the day?

Keeping the veneers smooth and firm

When your teeth are chipped or sporting stains that teeth whitening procedures have failed to fix, veneers are often the final option for turning things around. They are often touted as a better option to restore teeth to their natural appearance; in some cases, they can last up to 20 years if the maintenance was good across the board. If you’ve had veneers put on, your dentist can guide you on various ways to protect them.

Eating

Some sacrifices have to be made after undergoing veneer installation. For instance, you can’t take solid foods that could crack the veneers, especially hard candy. Refrain from drinking anything that has stained your teeth before, such as coffee or red wine, as well as alcoholic drinks because they can compromise the adhesive resin. You should also stay off snacks between meals and avoid carbs.

Daily cleaning

Continue your regular oral hygiene routine as it was before you had veneers, but tweak it on certain aspects. Use non-abrasive toothpaste that has whitening capabilities and be sure to floss after every brushing. Consult your dentist about using sonic toothbrushes; these devices have soft vibrating bristles that clean the veneers and dirt around the bonding.

Ceramic or porcelain veneers are one solution to keeping your teeth’s natural shape after all it’s been through. Between you and your dentist, the power to take care of your teeth is definitely within reach.