Teeth whitening - only eat beige foods?

[SweetBupkiss]

The dentist says during my at-home tooth whitening treatment (which will last about three weeks) and for a week after I shouldn’t drink tea, coffee or red wine, or eat any foods that would stain a white shirt, eg bolognese, curry etc.
Does anyone seriously do that? I’m not sure what I’d eat or drink for a month. Bread and water?

I mean, that’s how your teeth got stained to begin with🤷🏼‍♀️ I thought it was common knowledge that those things stain teeth. There’s no point spending all that money and time if you can’t commit.

You can try drinking through a straw then immediately brushing your teeth after but I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t know if the tannins would adhere to your teeth easier whilst they’re being whitened or not. Presumably your dentist thinks so.

There’s loads of things you can eat or drink. Juice, smoothies, protein shakes, other forms of alcohol. I can’t even begin to list the wide range of food. Fruit/veg, rice, pizza, white sauce pasta dishes, English breakfasts, potato dishes

Have you done it, @wingsnthat?

I think juice and smoothies would stain a white shirt. As would pizza with the tomato sauce.

I had my teeth whitened and didn’t avoid anything that wasn’t beige. Basically I didn’t drink anything like black coffee or red wine, but I did drink milky tea etc. I didn’t have any curries or anything that I thought would be really obviously likely to stain but did have stuff like tomatoes. I did brush my teeth or at least drink plenty of water after eating/drinking... I couldn’t eat only beige foods for a full month. Anyway I was really pleased with the results - I didn’t do the full three weeks as didn’t need to. Maybe it would have been a bit quicker if I’d only eaten beige foods but I still got my teeth pretty white.

Usually the white foods only diet is needed for 48 hours following whitening done in the clinic. For the home system it's usual to be told to avoid tomato-based/curry-type foods and red wine whilst using the trays, and to wait for an hour at least after removing the trays to have tea or coffee. I would have clear water after tea or coffee but sadly avoid staining foods whilst you're using the trays.

Thanks both. I just can’t believe people comply that reliably. I also just came across this research that suggests it might not matter. But I will try! www.researchgate.net/publication/266784239_White_Diet_Is_It_Necessary_During_Tooth_Whitening

I do at home whitening with the trays. I drink coffee and red wine through a straw for the few days I do it but that’s about it.