5 Foods that Can Whiten Your Teeth – Elite Dental Care Tracy
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13 March 2019

5 Foods that Can Whiten Your Teeth – Elite Dental Care Tracy

Did you know enamel is just the thin outer covering of the tooth? This tough shell is the hardest tissue in the human body. Enamel covers the crown which is the part of the tooth that’s visible outside of the gums, it is translucent, and that is why you can see light through it. But the main portion of the tooth, the dentin, is the part that’s responsible for your tooth color, whether white, off white, grey, or yellowish. It helps protect your teeth from daily use such as chewing, biting, crunching, and grinding.

Although it is a hard protector of teeth, it can chip and crack. It also insulates the teeth from potentially painful temperatures and chemicals. Unlike a broken bone that can be repaired by the body, once a tooth chips or breaks, the damage is done forever. Because enamel has no living cells, the body cannot repair chipped or cracked enamel. Tooth erosion happens when acids wear away the enamel on teeth.

Enamel erosion can be caused by the following:

  • Excessive soft drink consumption (high levels of phosphoric and citric acids)
  • Fruit drinks (some acids in fruit drinks are more erosive than battery acid)
  • Dry mouth or low salivary flow (xerostomia)
  • Diet (high in sugar and starches)
  • Acid reflux disease (GERD)
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Medications (aspirin, antihistamines)
  • Genetics (inherited conditions)
  • Environmental factors (friction, wear and tear, stress, and corrosion)

As the enamel erodes and more dentin is exposed, the teeth may appear yellow. Drinks like coffee, tea, cola, red wine, fruit juices, and cigarettes stain the enamel on your teeth. Regular visits to your dentist in Tracy for routine cleaning and polishing can help remove most surface stains and make sure your teeth stay healthy. However if you are experiencing discoloration of your teeth then you can also become an expert for your dental health. I can recommend you 5 different kind of food products which you might already have it in your kitchen that can help you keep your teeth in the best shape.

1. Strawberries may stain your shirt but it is proven to be very useful for your teeth, it contains malic acid, which help to convert carbohydrates into energy for muscles. Maintaining the right about of malic acids is essential for strong dental health, as the acids can dissolve superficial stains on the surface of teeth. According to Raman Singh, DDS is a dentistry practitioner in Tracy, CA, there are many ways to take advantage of strawberries’ whitening effects, and including smashing them up and mixing those with baking soda to form a whitening paste to brush on your teeth. “I would recommend using a fluoride-based mouth rinse immediately following to help remove any residual malic acid and it will help strengthen your teeth,” Dr. Singh says. If you don’t like strawberries, you can also find malic acid in apples, nectarines, cherries, bananas, peaches, and lychee.

2. Milk, cheese and yogurt helps your mouth to produce excess saliva, which helps to break down stains on enamel. Dairy products contain lactic acid, which may help protect teeth against decay. A study in the journal Dentistry found kids who ate yogurt four times per week had less tooth decay than kids who didn’t eat yogurt.

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3. Coarse vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli have teeth whitening benefits when you eat them raw. They’re difficult to chew, so as you grind them up, the veggies strip superficial stains from the surface of your teeth. And the longer you chew, the more saliva the mouth produces, which helps to break down stains.

4. Sunflower seeds act as an exfoliant for your teeth, which means it helps in removing dead cells, stains and whitening the surface of teeth. Other seeds and nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews, have a similar effect.

5. Also you may think raisins are bad for your teeth because of their sticky sweetness, but they’re actually protective. Research shows that bran cereal with raisins helps clean the mouth faster than the same cereal without raisins. Chewing raisins stimulates saliva, which helps prevent plaque, stains and cavities from developing by neutralizing the acidic environment created by other foods and bacteria in your mouth.