Dr. Christopher Pescatore
Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry
Creating Beautiful Smiles
Call: (925) 362-9330

How to Maintain the Results of Professional Teeth Whitening

In Cosmetic October 5, 2022

A professional teeth whitening treatment is a quick and effective way to achieve a renewed, radiant smile. Stunning white teeth can help boost your self-esteem and give you the confidence to share your smile. Unfortunately, whitened teeth can lose their appeal if not properly cared for. Diet, age, and certain daily habits can contribute to surface stains or discoloration.

To maintain the results of your professional teeth whitening treatment, here are some helpful tips.

Avoid Highly Pigmented Foods and Beverages

Over time, exposure to certain foods and beverages will gradually stain your whitened teeth. Everything you consume comes into contact with your tooth enamel. To minimize discoloration, you should avoid highly pigmented foods and drinks like:

  • Coffee, tea, and red wine
  • Dark sodas and juices
  • Dark sauces like soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and red pasta sauce
  • Beets
  • Berries and grapes
  • Dark chocolate
  • High sugar and acidic foods

If avoiding these completely is not an option, then you may want to make sure that you drink your beverages with a straw to reduce contact with your teeth. Rinse or brush your teeth immediately after having foods that can cause staining.

Improve Your Oral Hygiene

After teeth whitening, it’s time to freshen up your dental and oral hygiene to prevent new stains and discoloration from developing on your teeth. Good oral care involves brushing twice daily and flossing once every day. Brushing your teeth for more than a minute is recommended to ensure all substances are dislodged from your teeth.

To get a proper cleaning, brush all of the exposed surfaces of your teeth in small-circular movements. Gargling and rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash can also protect your teeth from bacterial infection.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking is one of the fastest ways to ruin your professional teeth whitening treatment. Smoking and the use of tobacco products cause discoloration and increase the risk of plaque and tartar buildup. Tobacco also increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease. To keep your white smile looking good, it is important to quit any tobacco habit.

Schedule Regular Exams and Dental Cleanings

Regular dental checkups can go a long way in maintaining a healthy, white smile. The dentist will clean your teeth more thoroughly than your daily brushing while checking for plaque buildup, gingivitis, and cavities. Surface stains are also removed during professional teeth cleaning. Visiting your dentist at least two times per year helps keep dental issues to a minimum.

Get Touchups As Needed

Regardless of how well you clean your teeth, they will eventually build up new stains. Scheduling teeth whitening touchup appointments every 6-12 months can remove deep stains that develop and maintain your results longer. You can also ask your dentist what they recommend for at-home touchups.

Proper Care and Maintenance for Long-Lasting Results

Professional teeth whitening is only one step on the journey to a beautiful, healthy smile. Proper care and maintenance are critical to long-term oral wellness. In addition to the occasional cosmetic dental treatment, ensure you keep up with your regular dental checkups and contact your dentist if you experience any oral health issues.

The post How to Maintain the Results of Professional Teeth Whitening first appeared on Dental Signal.
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Testimonials

Dr. Pescastore,

I just had to take a minute to let you know how much me and my family appreciate everything you have done for us. When we met in 2001 I was honestly anxious about the work I needed to have done. I was nervous about the results and also about the potential pain it might take to achieve the smile I wanted. You were so thorough in your evaluation of my extensive dental history and so clear in your explanation of the procedures required that I felt confident to take your recommendations and trust my smile to you. I have never regretted that decision. I am so grateful for the way you and your wonderful staff made every appointment as easy and comfortable as it could possibly have been. I was always happy to be going there knowing I would be treated so well and love the results. I still feel the same way, and look forward to my appointments with you and your caring staff. I really enjoy the spa like feeling and always leave there more relaxed than when I arrived. My friends are always surprised to learn that I look forward to my dentist appointments as they are lamenting about theirs.

I am especially grateful for the way you have treated my daughters. They too had many dentists before you and were nervous about going to the dentist. Thanks to you and Stacey and the rest of your wonderful staff they now share my feeling about going to the dentist and are happy to be there. Brooke is so afraid of needles that even at seventeen years old she still cries if she thinks she might get a shot at the doctors office. She was very nervous before her first appointment with you, in spite of mine and her sisters assurance that it really wouldn't hurt. Thank you for proving us right. Now even Brooke is not afraid to go to the dentist. I also want you to know how grateful I am for the emergency care you gave Sadie when she chipped her front tooth. I really appreciate you changing your own plans for the day to help her. She was so upset about the way her tooth looked that she cried all the way to your office. She, like me, left your office that day feeling great about herself and her smile. You have really made a positive difference in our lives and we are all so grateful to you for it. We all look forward to seeing you and your great team for our future dental needs.

With Great Respect and Many Thanks,

Pennie Gaddis

I look back at old photographs and realize I spent years hiding teeth. I had braces in my 30s and made the mistake of having my orthodontist apply veneers to my discolored, misshapen teeth. I was his first veneers patient, and I learned that when you're having cosmetic dentistry done, you should have a cosmetic dentist do it. When I decided to have those veneers replaced, I found an expert Dr. Pescatore. In fact, it was just a few weeks before my wedding that I asked Dr. Pescatore to do my smile makeover. I trusted him completely and knew from my first appointment that I was in good hands. He impressed me with his concern that my veneers look natural, and they do. My smile is huge in my wedding pictures, not only because I had a new husband but also because I had fabulous new teeth! I'm grateful to Dr. Pescatore and his caring, attentive staff for what they did for me. I finally have the smile I'd always wanted.

Evelyn Dalton

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