Do’s and Don’ts After Teeth Whitening

So many of our patients at Pike Smiles ask about what they should do and what they should avoid to ensure that their teeth whitening treatment is as successful as possible. We’ve heard it all from “Can I eat chicken nuggets after my teeth whitening?” to questions about nicotine use and dark-colored liquids and how they can affect treatment. Don’t worry though, we’ve got the answers for every do and don’t question we’ve heard so far.

These guidelines are most important to follow in the 48 hours after your teeth whitening appointment when your teeth are at their most porous. Some patients prefer to play it safe and follow these recommendations for longer from anywhere to 72 hours after, to a full week.

Do’s After Teeth Whitening

• Do use a desensitizing toothpaste after your appointment to reduce any chance of discomfort.
• Do try to stick just to drinking water. Even clear beverages like Sprite can discolor your teeth due to carbonation, acidity, and high sugar content.
• Do eat white and light-colored foods like white rice, white sauce, most kinds of pasta, unbreaded chicken (yes, sadly, excluding chicken nuggets), and white fish like Atlantic cod and haddock.
• Do feel free to eat popcorn but be safe by being mindful of any pieces getting stuck in hard-to-reach places and remove them.

Don’ts After Teeth Whitening

• Don’t eat dark-colored foods like salmon, beef, chocolate, and peanut butter, or drink darkly colored beverages like coffee and most juices. Research has shown that red wine, tea and cola stain teeth after whitening treatment, interesting coffee didn’t show the same results, but we recommend avoiding it to be safe regardless.
• Don’t drink beer, red wines, or sugary mixed drinks, if you do drink alcohol stick to clear liquids like vodka, gin, and white wine.
• Don’t vape or smoke, or use any orally administered nicotine product, for at least the first 24-48 hours after. After that, or if you cannot abstain, we recommend brushing your teeth after.
• Don’t use mouthwash or colored toothpaste.
• Don’t eat condiments other than mayo or similarly white condiments.
• Don’t eat fruits and vegetables like tomatoes or beets, but lettuce and others that require little chewing, are lighter in color.

The Bottom Line

The basics of do’s and don’ts after teeth whitening could be summarized as follows: If it can stain a t-shirt it could stain your teeth and try to practice the fundamentals of oral hygiene.

We hope these tips can help you before your appointment, whether at our office or elsewhere. Professional teeth whitenings are a safe, effective procedure that we’ve seen transform patients’ self-image and self-confidence and we would love to be able to do the same for you.

If you are in the Falls Church, VA community, we would love to help you explore your options when it comes to teeth whitening and to answer any other questions that you may have.

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