How to Make Your Teeth Whitening Results Last Longer

If you’ve just invested in teeth whitening, whether it was a DIY kit or a professional whitening treatment from you dentist, you need to know how to retain your new bright smile for as long as possible. For patients who undergo professional teeth whitening, it is especially important to preserve your results and protect your investment.

Tooth staining and discoloration can affect patients at varying degrees. However, here are some basic tips that will help any patient extend their whitening results:

• Stay away from staining foods and drinks. While it is best to avoid coffee, tea and red wine altogether, you can choose to drink through a straw to limit the direct contact of these staining agents on your pearly whites.

• Rinse with water. If you’ve indulged in a bowl of blueberries or enjoyed a cup of coffee, be sure to follow it up with a good rinse of water. If it is possible, go ahead and brush your teeth after consuming staining foods or drinks.

• Avoid tobacco. Smoking is undoubtedly one of the worst culprits to a yellow smile. Do yourself a favor and drop the habit if you want to protect both your health and your new bright smile.

• Use a whitening toothpaste. To remove surface stains, consider using a whitening toothpaste about once a week. However, don’t let this replace a regular fluoride toothpaste. Your smile health comes first.

• Get a professional cleaning every six months. A cleaning from your dentist is designed to polish off stubborn stain that you cannot always get at home. Waiting longer than six months could cause stains to set in deeper and be more difficult to remove.

Following the above guidelines after your teeth whitening treatment will certainly help you retain your results. However, teeth whitening is not a permanent solution. Depending on which whitening product you use, a touch up will likely be in order anywhere from one month to one year after treatment. If you want a more permanent fix to a whiter smile, you may want to consider porcelain veneers.

To learn more about which teeth whitening system we use at Salt Run Dental, please give us a call. We love helping patients smile brighter and look younger with such a simple and affordable treatment.