1. Tomato-based dishes and dark-colored sauces
Highly-pigmented foods like tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, even ketchup are highly acidic, which erodes the enamel on your teeth. This applies to tomato-based dishes as well, like pizza and pasta. Also, spices and dark-colored foods can cause more immediate staining. This includes balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, dark sodas like cola, dark chocolate, coffee, red wine, and so on. Rinsing your mouth with POPWHITE Oral Rinse after eating anything with tomato sauce—or any other dark-colored or highly-pigmented ingredient—will help your teeth resist staining.
2. Bright, rich-toned fruits
If none of these staining foods have surprised you so far, here’s a curve ball; fruits, especially dark berries, can stain your teeth just as much as wine and tea. Fresh from the vine, frozen, or even baked in a pie, fruits like blueberries, blackberries, and pomegranates can stain your teeth, but lighter fruits tend to carry more acid, which can weaken enamel and make your teeth more susceptible to staining.
3. Sports and Energy Drinks
Here’s one that goes hand-in-hand with soda and other carbonated drinks. The sugar, acid, dye, and other chemicals found in sodas and sports drinks can significantly damage your tooth enamel and leave your teeth badly stained. Even light-colored sodas and sports drinks, like 7-Up or Gatorade, carry acids and sugars that eat away at the surface of your teeth.
How to Prevent Tooth Stains
A few changes can be made that will lessen the effects of enamel damage and tooth staining.
- Cut back on unnecessary food items like candy, soda, and sports drinks, and opt for water when possible.
- Use a straw when consuming beverages like soda, fruit juice, and tea. This can allow the liquid to bypass your teeth, preventing stain damage.
- Rinse, then brush. Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually more damaging to your teeth to brush right after consuming something acidic. Instead, rinse out your mouth with POPWHITE Oral Rinse – washing away the remaining acid left over from your drink or snack – and then wait at least a half hour before brushing your teeth with POPWHITE Toothpaste.
