How to Maintain Your Smile After a Teeth Whitening Appointment

You’ve just had your teeth whitened, and your smile looks amazing. The last thing you want to do is continue the activities that discolored your teeth in the first place.

At Fluegge Family Dentistry, Dr. Matthew Fluegge and our team offer the powerful Zoom!® teeth whitening system that bleaches out troublesome stains and refreshes your smile in under an hour. Because you want to keep your smile looking radiant, we’ve got some tips on how to keep your smile white after teeth whitening.

What is teeth whitening, and how is it done?

In-office professional teeth whitening uses peroxide, a bleaching agent, to break up the stains on your teeth and eliminate them. This reveals the healthy white color below the problem areas and gives your teeth an overall brightness.

Dr. Fluegge first covers your lips and gums to prevent any injury or sensitivity to the peroxide. Then, he fills the custom-made trays with the bleaching agent and slips them over your teeth. Depending on which treatment you choose, we may shine an LED light on the gel to help accelerate the process, and we may break up your time in the chair into a few 15-minute sessions to prevent sensitivity.

When the gel has done its job, we remove the trays, rinse your mouth, and let you look at your now-beautiful teeth in the mirror.

One of the advantages of in-office treatments over take-home kits is that Dr. Fluegge can use a higher concentration of carbamide or hydrogen peroxide, giving you faster results — you’ll usually see noticeable results after a single treatment. With Phillips Zoom!, you can see up to eight shades whiter in just an hour.

You and our dental team can determine how many treatments you’ll need to achieve your desired level of whiteness.

Maintaining your smile after teeth whitening

Now that you’ve gone through the trouble and expense of getting your teeth whitened, it doesn’t make sense to go back to your habits that stained them in the first place. With a bit of adjustment, though, you can keep your beautiful results for quite some time. 

Minimize staining liquids and foods

Coffee, tea, dark colas, red wine, soy sauce, tomato sauce, and dark berries are everyday consumables that stain teeth. Cut back on these items to keep your teeth white.

If you can't live without dark drinks, try sipping them through a straw, especially in the first few days after your whitening treatment. Straws reduce the amount of liquid that comes in contact with your teeth. Keep straws handy wherever you’re prone to drinking your beverages.

Rinse your mouth periodically while consuming staining items

Try rinsing your mouth with water periodically while you consume staining items. Water hydrates you and clears away the staining compounds so they don’t have time to stick to your teeth.

Brush your teeth after eating and drinking

The longer food and drinks stay on your teeth, the darker the staining. Carry a toothbrush and toothpaste to work to clean your teeth after your tea or coffee break.

It’s important, though, to wait at least 60 minutes to brush after drinking any acidic drink like coffee or juice because tooth enamel becomes soft shortly after eating or drinking. If you brush too soon, you may damage your teeth rather than help them.

Snack on water-laden and mineral-rich foods

Choose snacks like celery, apples, or melon, which all have a high water content. The water will help flush debris away from your teeth and prevent staining. Foods high in calcium and magnesium, like milk and cheese, can help remineralize teeth under attack from acidic consumables.

Maintain your oral health routine

Plaque not only leads to enamel erosion but also attracts staining substances. Reducing the amount of plaque in your mouth reduces overall discoloration. Stick to twice-daily brushing to keep your mouth clean, healthy, and stain-free, and floss once a day, too. Failure to floss may lead to a build-up of stains around the surfaces of your teeth, even if you brush regularly.

Want more tips on keeping your teeth beautifully white? Are you interested in seeing if you’re a good candidate for teeth whitening? Call Fluegge Family Dentistry at 509-888-3384 to schedule, or book online today.