Ways to Keep Your Teeth White

Brides give a lot of thought to their wedding dress, shoes, jewelry, hair and makeup, but sometimes we forget one of our best accessories: a bright white smile! There are plenty of ways to get a mega-watt smile for your wedding, including in-office whitening procedures, take-home kits, even whitening strips you can buy at the drugstore. Helpful tip: Ann's dentist says the best time to try a whitening product is right after your semi-annual cleaning!

Here are some tips from Martha Stewart Weddings on ways to help keep those pearly whites looking camera-ready:

• Limit highly pigmented drinks like coffee, tea, and red wine. And mind fare such as blueberries, balsamic vinaigrette, and tomato and soy sauces. Rule of thumb: anything that will stain a shirt will stain your teeth.
• Swish with water between bites or sips of dark foods and drinks to quickly rinse off residue.
• Munch on apples, celery and carrots, which exfoliate teeth (and fend off plaque and discoloration) with their fibrous textures.
• Eat spinach and broccoli, which prevent stains by coating teeth with a layer of antioxidants.
• Brush and floss after every meal, but when drinking soda, wait an hour before cleaning, as its acids weaken tooth enamel.

Finally, if all else fails, consider the red lipstick trick--just remember, some shades have yellow undertones, so get a color that helps make your teeth look whiter!

Comments

[Dean Dacanay]

Yeah, even grooms should mind this most basic accessory. And consider all those photo-ops that the couple has to endure! I'm sure they wouldn't want to go through the wedding album regretting something that they could have remedied.

[Ann]

Dean, you're so right! We didn't mean to leave out grooms!