Over time, many substances can stain your teeth, diminishing their natural brightness. Teeth naturally pick up surface stains from foods, drinks, and even habits like smoking. These stains build up slowly, but regular brushing and professional cleanings can keep stains at bay.
However, some deep-set stains are stubborn. Understanding the common causes of stains and learning ways to remove them can help you reveal a brighter, whiter smile.
This article will explore eight effective methods for lifting stains from your teeth and how to remove stains from your teeth instantly. We’ll cover easy at-home approaches as well as professional whitening treatments.
With some diligence about your dental care routine and awareness of stain-causing substances, you can minimize new stains and remove long-held discoloration. Keep reading to learn eight ways to remove stubborn stains from your teeth and how to remove stains from your teeth.
Why Do Teeth Stain?
Teeth can become stained for a variety of reasons. Types of teeth stains include:
- Extrinsic stains: These are surface stains caused by foods, drinks, tobacco, and other environmental factors that cause discoloration on the outer enamel layer.
- Intrinsic stains: These are stains that originate from within the tooth, often due to trauma, medications, excessive fluoride, or diseases that affect tooth development.
- Age-related stains: As we get older, the outer enamel layer gets thinner, allowing the yellowish dentin layer underneath to show through more prominently.
How To Remove Stains From Teeth? 8 Easy Ways to Remove Stains from Teeth
1. Brush and Floss Thoroughly
Careful plaque removal is the foundation for avoiding and reducing stains. Plaque is a thin, sticky film of bacteria that accumulates on your teeth every day.
Food particles and drink stains easily adhere to this layer of plaque. Flossing once daily clears plaque from between teeth and brushing twice daily sweeps more plaque off visible tooth surfaces. Choose soft or extra-soft bristles to avoid scratching enamel.
2. Have Professional Cleanings Twice a Year
Even diligent at-home care usually leaves some plaque behind. The longer plaque sits on teeth, the more discoloration it can cause.
Regular dental cleanings allow professionals to remove accumulated plaque and surface stains from teeth. Typically, dental cleanings are recommended every six months.
3. Use Whitening Toothpaste
Over-the-counter whitening toothpastes contain mild abrasives such as silica or baking soda to safely scrub stains off enamel.
Additionally, ingredients like hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide actively break bonds in organic stains to extract discoloration from roughened areas. Using a whitening toothpaste for daily brushing helps lift surface stains from teeth gently but effectively over time.
4. Try At-Home Whitening Strips or Gels
In just one to four weeks, over-the-counter whitening strips or custom-fit trays with peroxide gels can whiten teeth by up to 10 shades without special equipment.
These methods allow the peroxide gel to remain on the teeth longer than regular brushing for better results in removing stains from teeth. However, concentrations are lower than professional treatments. Thus, stubborn stains may remain even after completing the directed course.
5. Invest in Professionally Administered In-Office Whitening
For more dramatic whitening in less time, consider professional whitening at your dentist’s office. In as little as one visit, stubborn stains can be lightened significantly.
Professional products contain higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide compared to over-the-counter methods. Under professional supervision, trays or whitening strips remain on the teeth for longer periods if sensitivity allows.
6. Undergo Stain-Removal Procedures
Professional whitening can lighten the entire tooth, but particular stains may remain untouched. Stubborn spots, stripes, or rings of discoloration often come from challenges in tooth formation, long-ago trauma, or certain past medications.
Targeted stain removal procedures can extract these marks from specific areas of enamel. Air polishing uses a pressurized air tool to deliver baking soda, salt, or other powders to abrade the stain away.
Next, hydrogen peroxide can assist with final color correction. Alternatively, micro-abrasion equips professionals with a pointed tool to skillfully sand marks out of the enamel using an acid compound.
7. Adjust Dietary Habits
Heavy staining typically comes from habitual consumption of certain staining substances. So be aware of foods, drinks, and other products that frequently contact and discolor your teeth such as berries, curry and sauces with turmeric, beets, tomato-based products, red wine, coffee, black tea, colas, sports drinks, cinnamon-flavored products, tobacco, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and hard candies.
When possible, reduce intake of staining culprits and prevent extended contact with teeth when enjoying them.
8. Improve Oral Hygiene Habits
Improving your daily oral hygiene limits staining by reducing plaque build-up and stopping stains before they set. Here are some key tips:
- Brush for two minutes twice daily. Set a timer if needed.
- Angle bristles towards gumlines to focus on plaque.
- Upgrade your brushing with an electronic toothbrush. Electric heads oscillate to dissolve plaque efficiently with less effort compared to manual motions.
- Clean interdentally once a day with floss or interdental picks to clear plaque from between teeth. Avoid letting stains take hold in hard-to-clean spots.
- If you smoke cigarettes or cannabis, rinse the mouth after use to prevent layered staining on teeth.
- Swish occasionally with an antiseptic mouthwash containing cetylpyridinium chloride which helps prevent discoloring plaque formation. Developing disciplined prevention habits reduces staining over time for whiter teeth.
Also Read: Fluoride-Free Toothpaste For Teeth: Best Results Explained!
Conclusion
No matter the source of your tooth stains—ranging from long-held deeply embedded marks to newer surface build-up—effective options exist to lift discoloration. Methods as simple as adjusting home care routines help curb staining daily.
Leveraging professional-grade whitening gives the power to rapidly brighten your smile by shade levels in one visit.
Ongoing awareness around teeth-staining foods and drinks allows you to balance intake and contact time to prevent exponential discoloration. While stains set permanently in enamel seem stubborn to remove, today’s products and skilled dental professionals have the tools to meet the challenge.
Arm yourself with the knowledge shared here regarding the types of products available over the counter or through your dental office. Pair information on treatment options with diligent daily dental care and smarter dietary habits.
Keep teeth their cleanest using regular brushing, flossing, dental visits, and limited staining exposures—this makes any whitening or stain-removal efforts more effective and longer-lasting.
With concerted effort using the methods described here, you can reveal your teeth’ naturally lighter color, minimize new stains from taking hold easily, and take satisfaction in maintaining a visibly whiter smile long-term. Which of the eight techniques shared most interests you in how to remove stains from teeth?
References
- AbidiaR, et al. (2019). Efficacy of tooth whitening using natural products in vitro. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sdentj.2019.01.020 - Amaliya, et al. (2007). Java project on periodontaldiseases: The relationship between vitamin C and the severity of periodontitis.DOI:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17378886
