When a baby begins teething, the tiny teeth that break through the gums are pearly white.
However, with time, as a person grows up, teeth begin to lose their white color because of various factors.
Fortunately, you don't have to live with yellowing teeth all your life.
There are safe and tested teeth whitening treatments that can reinstate the pearliness of your teeth.
However, in order for ensure that the effects of treatment do not diminish, you need to follow certain important precautions after you undergo whitening treatment.
Here are some important after-care tips.
Precautions with food It takes some time for the effects of whitening treatment to set in.
So, restrain from eating or drinking anything within the first half an hour of treatment.
You can have plain clean water, although you need to avoid hot or cold water.
During the twelve hours immediately following whitening treatment, avoid eating any kind of colored foods.
You can have milk, yoghurt and other foods that are white in color.
This is a very important precaution because after the treatment, the pores on your teeth are sensitive.
So, they absorb colors and chemicals easily, thereby leading to discoloration.
Also avoid nicotine in any form (tobacco in the form of cigarettes, cigars or chewing powder).
Alcohol also has to be avoided.
Foods that you can consume are boiled chicken, egg white, white fish, cauliflower, white beans, skinned apples, bananas, boiled and peeled potatoes, and other white colored foods.
However, you need to avoid foods that are sticky such as breads or buns.
Foods that you need to avoid include red meats such as beef, lamb or pork, colored fish such as salmon, tuna or prawns, and veggies such as beetroot, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli and others.
Do not eat chocolates including the white milk chocolates.
Also included in the list of things to be avoided are tea, coffee, cool drinks, aerated drinks, citrus drinks, red wine and fruit juices.
Things to avoid Avoid using cosmetics on the lips such as lip balms or lipsticks because they can touch your teeth and stain them.
Before you leave the dentist's clinic, ask him or her about the use of toothpastes and mouthwashes.
Typically, in keeping with the thumb rule, you need to avoid colored mouth freshening agents.
So, you might want the dentist to suggest white or colorless products to use for a few days after the treatment.
The teeth of some people are more porous and sensitive than others.
Such people suffer greater damage when exposed to discoloration agents.
However, it is very tough to find out the porosity of your teeth.
So, it is always better to follow precautions and ensure that the effects of whitening treatments are not nullified.
Allergic reactions You might be allergic to the chemicals that dentists use in teeth whitening.
Peroxide is one agent that is usually used in most of the whitening treatments and several people are allergic to it.
If you do not know about your allergy and get the treatment done, you might notice rashes and swelling in the mouth and lip area.
If the problem gets worse, contact the dentist for a remedy.
If you want pearly white teeth, you need to put in some effort too!