If you have a special occasion coming up, you may be concerned about how your smile will be looking. Even if it’s just an ordinary day, you might want the extra boost of confidence that comes with polishing up your pearly whites.

There are a lot of ways to get your Teeth looking whiter, but one thing they all have in common is a hefty price tag. Tooth whitening can be a great investment, but you’re probably concerned about how long the results will last.

There are lots of things you can do to make sure your smile stays bright for a long time:

• brush and floss twice daily
• use a whitening toothpaste occasionally
• don’t smoke
• visit your dentist regularly
• use a straw when drinking

Although these things can help maintain your whitening results, one of the most important things that you can do is be mindful of the foods that you eat. Certain foods can be harmful to teeth and cause staining that will diminish the brightness of your newly whitened teeth.

Below, read about 5 of the worst tooth-staining offenders.

Coffee

Bad news for caffeine lovers: coffee is one of the worst foods you can consume if you want whiter teeth. Your teeth may be coated in strong enamel, but the enamel isn’t perfectly smooth. It has lots of little pits and holes where food can become trapped.

Coffee is full of dark pigments that can become trapped in the ridges of your enamel. This can cause your teeth to yellow over time and undo the positive results of your teeth whitening. This staining can be hard to reverse.

The best solution is to abstain from coffee altogether. However, if this is not a realistic solution for you, there are other options. For example, you could try drinking your coffee more quickly instead of lingering over it for a long period. Then, rinse your mouth with water or brush your teeth right after finishing to wash away the dark pigments that cause stains.

Sauces

Sauces may be a staple for cooking good gourmet dishes and comfort food, but certain types of sauce can actually be bad for your teeth. Which sauces are the worst offenders?

• tomato sauce
• soy sauce
• curry sauces

These are three yummy sauces that stain your teeth in much the same way that coffee does. The sauces are dark in color, so the pigmentation can work its way into the cracks in your enamel and leave significant stains that can be hard to combat.

Much like with coffee, the best solution to this problem is to avoid these sauces altogether. Try lighter colored sauces instead, such as a butter or cream sauce. These have fewer of the damaging pigments that can derail your tooth whitening.

However, if you can’t imagine living without a good red sauce, you should rinse your mouth with water or brush your teeth immediately after eating to cleanse your pearly whites of the offending pigments.

Red wine

You may have heard that Red Wine is great for your health: it has a lot of antioxidants and can be great for your heart. Besides, who doesn’t love a nice glass of wine to unwind at the end of the day?

Unfortunately, red wine also has an abundance of those pesky dark pigments that can stain your teeth. You’ve probably noticed some discoloration on your teeth after having a few glasses, but you may not have realized that the damage could be permanent.

You probably know what’s coming next. I’m going to tell you that the best solution is to avoid red wine. I know, first I take away your coffee, then your sauces, now your wine.

If you have a strong attachment to red wine, there are ways that you can drink it without undoing your tooth whitening. For example, you can rinse your mouth with water regularly while drinking or buy special wipes that lift the pigments from the surface of your teeth.

Berries

Finally, an item on the list that doesn’t demonize your favorite comfort foods! It turns out that healthful fruits can actually be a tooth-staining culprit. In particular, berries such as blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, and raspberries have rich colors that are harmful to your smile.

It’s important to note that berries can stain your teeth in any form, not just when they’re fresh. So, if you thought you could get away with sipping on fruit juice or spreading jam on your toast, unfortunately, that won’t help the situation.

You could cut these foods out of your diet; however, berries have a lot of important health benefits that you could miss out on if you avoid them. Specifically, they’re packed with antioxidants that can do wonders for your body.

The best advice is to drink water or brush your teeth after eating berries to protect the whiteness of your teeth.

Sweets

As someone with a massive sweet tooth, this one hurts me. It’s no secret that sweets are not good for your teeth. We’ve all been told since childhood that too much candy will make our teeth rot. However, you may be surprised to learn that sweets can actually stain your teeth.

Different candies carry different risks. Some candies are acidic and damage your enamel, making your teeth more prone to stains. Other candies have artificial dyes made from pigments that stain teeth. All sweets are packed with sugar, which damages enamel and promotes staining.

One of the most dangerous things about sweets is the prolonged amount of time your teeth are exposed to it. Sticky candies get stuck in your teeth. Hard candies sit next to your teeth for a long time. Exposing your teeth to these sugars for so long makes the staining even more potent.

The bottom line: eat sweets sparingly. When you do indulge, be sure to brush afterwards.

Being mindful of these foods will help you get the most out of your tooth whitening service. So, what’s stopping you? Make an appointment today with one of Brisbanes best tooth whitening providers to get the white smile you’ve always dreamed of!