When you get teeth whitening treatments, technicians often will give you instructions on certain foods to avoid for a certain period of time. This is because for the first couple weeks after whitening, your teeth are more prone to sensitivity and staining. You don’t want to have paid for a whitening treatment only to notice staining within a few days or feel discomfort from eating the wrong foods. Read on below for what foods and drinks you should avoid (or limit) immediately following professional teeth whitening treatments and up to 48 hours following the procedure.
What Foods Can “Stain” Your Teeth?
Typically foods with dark natural pigments or artificial dyes are to be avoided after teeth whitening as much as possible for the first few days after treatment.
Common foods that help stain your foods include dark meat, spinach and blueberries. Often, dark-coloured, “wet” or “juicier” foods have a higher chance of staining freshly whitened teeth. This is because the juices in these foods can seep into crevices made during the bleaching treatment. Other foods to avoid are balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, berries, tomato sauce, and beets. Some sweets and candy (such as dark chocolate and molasses) should also be limited temporarily after teeth whitening as well.
In terms of beverages, black tea and coffee, red wine, dark-coloured fruit juices, and cola are drinks you should also avoid post-whitening – at least temporarily of course.
Because whitening treatments make your teeth a bit more porous for the first couple of days after whitening, avoiding staining foods is crucial if you want to keep your treatment lasting and not getting stained before a week is even out.
What Can You Eat?
Simply put, you want to stick to a “white diet” post teeth whitening. This means eating and drinking foods and beverages that are light in colour with minimal heavy/dark seasonings and sauces. Good meats to eat post-teeth whitening are chicken, fish and pork. You can also replace red wine with white wine, eat strawberries, celery, cucumber, tofu, rice, bread, pasta, white cheese, yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables and drink water.
When cooking with some of these lean and light foods, be wary of heavy seasonings and sauces that are dark in colour as this can affect your whitening appearance.
After teeth whitening it is still easy to follow a healthy, balanced diet while ensuring your freshly whitened teeth can remain white in the first days following treatment.
Conclusion
You paid for teeth whitening treatments, so you’re going to want to ensure that your teeth maintain that new pearly whiteness for as long as possible. You don’t have to follow a strict diet forever, just the first couple days after treatment – while your teeth are extra sensitive and porous from the procedure. Once a few days pass, you’re free to enjoy your typical diet again. Of course, limiting heavily staining foods (such as coffee, cola, refined sugar, etc) will prolong the need to do a follow-up whitening treatment, it’s understandably difficult to fully change your diet just for whiter teeth – although there are overall health benefits as well.
Post-whitening, remember to keep up daily oral hygiene habits, such as brushing, flossing and using mouthwash. This will help keep your teeth healthy and clean, prolonging your whitening results and helping further treatments work their magic.
At Teeth Whitening Academy, we offer online teeth whitening training so you can jumpstart a career as a teeth whitening technician and start helping the world smile a little brighter each day.