Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
The girl smiles, perfect with straight and healthy teeth

Secrets Behind Strong Healthy Teeth

According to a survey conducted by Match. com., 42% of singles said they would not date a virgin, 65% would not date someone who was over $5000 in the red in credit card debt, nearly half considered still living with mum and dad to be a deal breaker, and more than half considered the biggest dating “must have” to be good teeth. Of 5,500 people surveyed, 58% of men and 71% of women said that healthy teeth are a big factor in considering a mate. Yes, more than clothes, hair, nails, and tattoos, it seems singles are quite focused on the teeth. Why? Well, in a nutshell, many people associate good teeth with good hygiene and cleanliness and bad teeth with bad breath. Although, this may not always be the case, there seems to be no doubt that strong healthy teeth have their benefits. If you’ve been spending your nights on the couch and think it might have something to do with your campers, here are some secrets behind healthy teeth.

Brush Your Teeth Before You Eat
According to Dr. Chris van Tulleken, cleaning your teeth within an hour after you eat brushes of tooth enamel. He suggests brushing before breakfast and drinking water or chewing sugarless gum to clean debris, sugar and acid from your mouth after eating during the day.

Woman brushing teeth properly

Proper Brushing

  • Brush for two minutes two times a day
  • Work the brush from one corner of your mouth to the other and get all surfaces.
  • Use a pea sized amount of toothpaste and brush softly.
  • Don’t rinse. It will keep the fluoride in your mouth longer.

Avoid Acid And Snacks
When you eat, your mouth stays acidic for about 40 minutes. If you snack often, your mouth is likely to be 60% more acidic than normal and your chances of gum disease and tooth decay increase. Try sticking to regular meals and avoid too many drinks and snacks.

Use Cucumber Mouthwash
Drink water and eat vegetables with high fiber like cucumber, celery and carrots. They will help kill bacteria that cause bad breath.

Go See The Dentist
Safe to say that there can be few horror movies and nightmares that frighten us quite like a visit to the dentist. Here are a few suggestions for making your visit a bit more pleasant.Don’t arrive early. This will only give you extra time to dwell on the horror that awaits and change your mind.Let your dentist know you’re nervous. If you get lucky and he’s not too sadistic, he may go easy on you. You can also ask him to keep the visit as free from pain as possible. Bring some tunes or your tablet. Distractions can be useful!

Avoid Sugar
Try to avoid candy and cereal and avoid acidic foods. If you’re a tea drinker, remember, peppermint tea is better than red berry, which is high in acids.Maintaining good dental health can be tough, but you know what they say about teeth, “Ignore them and they’ll go away!” So with that in mind, as your mom might say,” Go clean your teeth and find yourself a date!”

Woman drinking wine

Why does Red Wine Stain Teeth?

If you’re a red wine drinker, you’re probably quite familiar with the struggle of red wine stains on teeth. As far as why it happens, you can thank the high acidity levels combined with tannins and chromogens that like to take advantage of the plaque on your teeth. It’s not a particularly attractive look, but what are you supposed to do if you want to enjoy a nice glass of red without it showing up all over your pretty smile?

Drink Sparkling Water
Drinking sparkling water and subtly swishing it around in your mouth a bit can help remove the wine from your teeth before it could actually settle in. Having some water while you drink your wine is also a great way to help prevent getting a hangover while making sure you stay hydrated.

Skip Red Wine While Teeth Whitening
If you’re doing teeth whitening, you’re going to want to avoid red wine altogether. Your teeth are more porous so it’s more likely that they can get stained. Considering they’re more susceptible to staining, you should wait at least two days after the whitening is done before you start drinking red wine again.

Eat Hard Cheese
Wine and cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly, but eating hard cheese while you’re drinking wine can actually be good for preventing red wine stains on your teeth. You can thank the high amount of calcium from the hard cheese for that little benefit. Don’t hesitate to have some of your favorite cheese before and during your glass of red wine not only to help prevent stains but also because it’s typically a good idea anyway to have food on your stomach when you consume alcohol.

Woman brushing teeth

Wait to Brush Your Teeth
You may be tempted to brush your teeth right after drinking red wine in order to prevent staining on your teeth, but that could do more harm than good. It’s best if you actually brush and floss your teeth about an hour before you go out so you have a chance to remove the plaque that’s built up on your teeth while ensuring that you’re not going to have a nice mix of toothpaste flavor and red wine going on at dinner.

Drink Through a Straw
Okay so you’re probably not going to ask for a straw in a restaurant to start drinking out of your glass, but when you’re home, feel free to reach for one if you want to help prevent red wine stains on your teeth. It basically helps the wine bypass most of your teeth. Just keep in mind if you do this a lot that the repetitive motion of drinking through a straw could actually cause wrinkles around your mouth.

There’s no reason you can’t enjoy a good glass of red wine, but if you want to reduce the chances of stains popping up on your teeth, it’s best if you take precautions before, during, and after. A little effort can go a long way in helping to ensure your teeth stay as pearly white as possible.

logo

UNLOCK
20% OFF

Sign up and get 20% off your first purchase!

No thanks, I'll pay full price