Foods and Drinks to Avoid After Your Professional Teeth Whitening Treatment

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a teeth-whitening solution as powerful as the treatments we provide in our office. When you visit us for a brighter, whiter smile, that’s exactly what you get. Our advanced techniques seek out and destroy stains that lurk deeper within your enamel — something store-bought strips and DIY kits just can’t keep up with. 

However, just because you invest in our potent treatments, that doesn’t mean you’re free to start back up with the habits that landed you in our chair in the first place.  

Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to keep your smile as white as it is moments after your professional whitening. You just need to follow a few rules of thumb, particularly where your diet is concerned.  

Dr. Ayed Hawatmeh and our team at Bravo Dental Group know that having your teeth professionally whitened is both a financial and time commitment. So, we want to help you maximize each treatment. 

Here are a few diet dos and don’ts after professional teeth whitening. 

Acidic foods

During your teeth whitening treatment, we use a strong chemical solution to strip away stains from your enamel, which inevitably weakens your teeth slightly. Acidic foods like citrus fruit, tomatoes, pickled foods, and processed meats may further weaken your enamel and cause tooth sensitivity.     

Pigmented foods and drinks

Though tooth discoloration can stem from a variety of underlying issues, pigmented food and drinks are among the most common culprits. The pigments in some of your favorite treats find their way into the tiny pits and craters on the surface of your teeth and become trapped there. 

Everything from your morning cup of joe to your mountain of bolognese at dinnertime can splatter your teeth with deep-set stains.

Once you’ve had your teeth whitened in our office, we recommend you limit or avoid foods and drinks that can easily restain your teeth, including:

• Coffee
• Tea
• Soda
• Dark-colored sauces, such as tomato, BBQ, and soy sauce
• Red wine
• Berries
• Purple cabbage
• Grapes
• Carrots
• Beets
• Cherries
• Pomegranates
• Dark chocolate

A good question to ask yourself is: Would this food stain a white shirt? If yes, it’s probably also a threat to your smile. 

If you can’t avoid our list of forbidden foods, don’t panic. Try drinking through a straw or rinsing your mouth after eating and drinking.   

Artificial dyes

The naturally pigmented foods we just listed aren’t the only threats to your smile. You should also be wary of dyes found in popsicles, candies, and sports drinks. 

What else can I do?

Want to take your teeth whitening game a step further? In addition to keeping tabs on what you’re eating and drinking, you should also:

• Use a gentle whitening toothpaste
• Brush and floss twice daily
• Invest in a mouthwash
• Quit smoking 

Talk to us about any at-home whitening products before you use them to make sure they’re safe for your smile after treatment. We also recommend that you see us for checkups and regular whitening touch-ups. With our help and a few lifestyle adjustments, you can maintain a bright white smile for years. 

Ready to see just how powerful professional teeth whitening can be? Call our friendly staff or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation with our expert. We proudly serve the Brea, Banning, Corona, and Hemet, California, areas.