Is your toothbrush giving you stained teeth?

Everyone wants a perfect set of pearly whites like Petra Nemcova. Everyone. But if you think brushing your teeth straight after eating is the best way to prevent stained teeth, you’re sadly mistaken. In fact, doing so might just do the exact opposite.

What you actually need to do to stop teeth staining is this: wait 30 minutes. Yes, sit patiently and reminisce about your sensational meal for half an hour. For this is the key amount of time you need wait before brushing your teeth after sipping on well-known teeth stainers such as dark soft drinks, red wine, and colourful foods such as tomatoes.

The reason for this is very simple. When you eat acidic foods and brush your teeth soon after, your toothbrush actually brushes the acid further into your teeth, causing your enamel to erode. And this is very bad news, because enamel does not grow back. (It’s a little stubborn like that.) However, your body is incredibly smart and knows exactly how to avoid this nasty outcome, you just need to give it a little time…

Waiting half an hour before picking up your toothbrush gives your saliva time to neutralise those enamel-eroding acids. This helps prevent teeth stains and discolouration, as well as acid wear. Who knew your saliva was so wonderfully handy and hardworking, huh?

Oh, and if you really want to protect your teeth from both staining and enamel wear, opt for a soft toothbrush and a toothpaste high in fluoride. Of course, we also suggest limiting high acidic foods from your diet, but hey, sometimes that’s easier said than done.

5 of the best soft toothbrushes:

Colgate 360º MicroSonic Power
Spinbrush® PRO SENSITIVE
Oral-B CrossAction Power Toothbrushin Soft
Macleans Flex Toothbrushin Soft
Reach® Toothbrush Total Care Soft ($4.39, chemistwarehouse.com.au)

Do you brush your teeth after every meal? Will you allow 30 minutes before brushing after eating from now on? What are your tips for prevent stains?

Keep reading