White teeth can improve the appearance of your smile and boost your confidence as well. Drinking red wine, coffee and tea, as well as eating berries and tomatoes, can all lead to discoloration of your teeth. If your teeth have suffered the ill effects of what you eat and drink, it might be encouraging to note that some foods can reverse these effects and naturally whiten your teeth.
Crunchy Foods
There are many foods that cause you to do a great deal of chewing, and these foods might be effective teeth whiteners. Diane Irons notes in her book, "Teen Beauty Secrets: Fresh, Simple and Sassy Tips For Your Perfect Look," that eating crunchy foods might remove stain-causing food particles off the surface of your teeth before they are able to do any damage. Adding foods such as apples, celery and carrots will require you to chew often, effectively removing food left behind so your teeth are whitened naturally.
Film-Producing Foods
Foods that coat the surface of your teeth with a protective film will also help whiten your teeth naturally. Irons says certain foods create a film over your teeth so that stain-causing foods are not able to seep into your teeth and cause discoloration. Broccoli, spinach and lettuce are the most effective foods at covering your teeth with a film that will protect your teeth. Irons adds that these foods are also natural whiteners, so they get double duty at keeping your smile white.
Cheese
Not only does cheese contain a good amount of calcium, which supports strong and healthy teeth, but it also might work to help prevent staining and whiten your teeth. Lisa Drayer reports in her book, "The Beauty Diet: Looking Great Has Never Been So Delicious," that cheese helps create additional saliva in your mouth, which helps whisk away food particles stuck to your teeth so they do not have a chance to settle in and cause staining. Hard cheeses, such as cheddar, are the most effective, so add a 1 oz. piece after a meal that includes teeth-staining foods.
Dark Chocolate
Weak tooth enamel can encourage staining by allowing foods to soak into the surface of your teeth more easily. Keeping your tooth enamel strong can help prevent staining and might also encourage whitening as well. Dark chocolate contains a compound that helps strengthen your tooth enamel so that high-staining foods are not as effective at discoloration. Drayer notes that this substance, called theobromine, hardens the surface of your teeth, which helps keep them whiter. Choose the best-quality dark chocolate you can find to get more theobromine and more of these advantages.
References
- "Smile: The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Smile Beauty"; Jonathan Levine et al; 2006
- "Teen Beauty Secrets: Fresh, Simple and Sassy Tips For Your Perfect Look"; Diane Irons; 2002
- "The Beauty Diet: Looking Great Has Never Been So Delicious"; Lisa Drayer; 2008
