Tea Staining and Teeth
5 Whitening and Removal Tips

Tea staining can be minimized when drinking tea. Here's how to remove stains from your teeth and fabric.

Tea is good for just about every part of your body, but it can contribute to unsightly stains on your teeth over time.

Having your teeth bleached by a dentist is the most effective way to regain that white smile.

But seeing a dentist can be expensive and time consuming.

Here are a few things you can try at home to whiten your teeth.

Does Tea Stain Teeth?

Anything that will stain your clothing will also stain your teeth.

Wine, coffee and tea are all culprits.

Green tea is less staining than black tea, but over time you may see the effects on your less-than-pearly whites.

Drinking tea or coffee stains or discolors the dental plaque, but not the teeth itself.

If the plaque is not completely brushed and flossed away within 24 hours, it begins to harden and becomes what is commonly known as tartar. This tartar is porous and further absorbs stains from other food products.

When a dentist cleans your teeth, he removes the tartar and plaque. When the tartar and plaque go away, so do the teeth stains.

Tea Staining Tip #1:
See A Dentist or DIY?

Now you will ask: Do I have to go to the dentist to have the stains removed?

First, you should know that there is a difference between removing stains from teeth and whitening teeth. There are several effective ways to remove stains; true whitening will require chemicals and is somewhat harder to achieve at home.

Tea Staining Tip #2:
Minimise Teeth Stains

Here are the steps to keep tea and other beverages from staining your teeth:

1. Rinse your mouth with water after drinking tea.

2. Brush and floss daily. Flossing will remove the plaque that tends to build up between the teeth, staining the edges.

3. Brush with baking soda. Old-fashioned baking soda can remove stains, although it does not actually whiten or bleach the teeth. Make a paste of baking soda and salt, brush it on twice weekly.

4. After brushing, rinse with hydrogen peroxide.

5. Use a whitening toothpaste.

Tea Staining Tip #3:
Get A Quality Toothbrush

Use an electric toothbrush. It is considered an effective way to clean stains from teeth because it does a better job of cleaning off plaque and tartar than a manual toothbrush.

My personal favorite is the Phillips Sonicare Elite.

This product claims to be the 'number one recommended sonic toothbrush by dental professionals worldwide'.

With its patented cleaning action, which combines sound vibrations and a wide-sweeping brushing motion, dual brushing speed and two brush head sizes for dealing with different areas of the mouth, Philips says its new sonic electric toothbrush is clinically proven to significantly reduce coffee, tea and tobacco stains for naturally whiter teeth.

It will also improve gum health and remove more plaque than manual brushing. Results should be noticeable after just 28 days.

Here is what Dr. Phillip Stemmer, who has more than 25 years' experience with tooth whitening, says about Phillips Sonicare Elite:

Most dentists recommend the use of electric toothbrushes because they are proven to clean the teeth more efficiently than regular, manual brushing.

Good brushing technique, however, will not 'whiten' teeth. What a high quality electric brush like this one will do, as the manufacturers say, is remove most stains from the surface of the teeth and over time help take teeth back to their original color.

Verdict: Will keep your smile cleaner and whiter with regular use.

Tea Staining Tip #4:
Bleach Teeth At Home

There are many effective kits for whitening the teeth at home. Most are perfectly safe. Look for those that use hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide as a whitening agent. Avoid treatments which use abrasives to scrub stains off the teeth – these are best left to professionals.

The British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD) has issued a warning claiming that many DIY whiteners fail to give a good result or can even cause permanent damage to teeth.

Chemicals like carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide will bleach the teeth, but care must be taken to avoid prolonged exposure of gums and tongue to these chemicals. The danger is that this can lead to blistering and sensitivity.

Pumice may be too abrasive for home use, so even dentists only use it only occasionally - for example, to roughen the surface tooth enamel to get a filling to stick.

Citric acid should be avoided, as it may eat away at tooth enamel.

Tea Staining Tip #5:
Remove Tea Stains On Fabric

For stains on clothing or fabric, try the following: Combine four parts hydrogen peroxide with one part dish detergent. Dab the solution on the stain, then rinse or wash as usual.

Finally!

Drinking tea is so good for you. Stains on the teeth are one of the very few unpleasant side effects of drinking this terrific beverage.

Green tea contains fluoride which strengthens teeth. It has been shown by scientific studies to kill bacteria and viruses in the mouth which cause bad breath. So overall, it still does a lot of good to your oral hygiene.

Use the tips above to reduce tooth staining, and ask your dentist if bleaching is a good alternative for you. Keep drinking your tea every day – the rest of your body will thank you!

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