Monday, June 25, 2012

Foods that can stain your teeth


So you’ve tried every teeth whitening product and still don’t have those pearly white teeth? Don’t blame the product-it may be time to watch what you are eating!
Yes, that’s right; your diet can both help and wreak havoc on your teeth. Here’s a list of foods (and drinks) that you should try and avoid for your teeth, especially after you’ve tried a teeth whitening product:
Tea: Your daily cups of hot chai could be staining your teeth. This is due to the presence of tannins in tea.
Wine: Both red and white wines can stain the teeth due to its high acid content and also due to the tannins present in them.
Energy drinks, sports drinks, colas/aerated drinks: the acid content in these tend to erode the teeth enamel while the color added to the drinks stain teeth.
Dark colored fruits, berries: the natural color pigments in these fruits can latch on to the teeth enamel thus staining them.
Tomato based curries/sauces, soy sauce: again the natural color pigments present in these are strong enough to stain teeth.
Spices like turmeric, saffron and other masalas.
An easy rule of thumb to remember which foods can stain the teeth is that if the food can stain your clothes then they are more than likely to stain your teeth too!
Since completely avoiding all these foods is impossible, here are some tips to reduce the staining effect of these foods:
1. Eat these foods with other foods especially crunchy foods like carrots, celery, apples, and cucumbers. These tend to scrub the teeth while being chewed.
2. Sip drinks from a straw-thus minimizing contact with teeth.
3. Rinse your mouth after each snack, meal and drink. Brushing teeth after a meal if possible is a much better option.
4. Floss your teeth at least once a day to remove all food particles stuck in between teeth.
Take care of your teeth, after all like the saying goes, “Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable than a diamond”!!

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