Do you have an upcoming job interview or social event to attend in the near future? If so, it stands to reason that you'd like to look your best. Your smile is a powerful tool, which is why whitening your teeth can transform your appearance and help you make a good impression.

However, if you are fond of drinking soft drinks like cola or even lemonade, you should be aware that this habit might affect the quality of your whitening. This could be true both before and after your treatment.

Before: Soft Drinks Erode Tooth Enamel

Did you know that fizzy drinks contain acid that can actually erode your tooth enamel over time? In fact, some of these drinks contain one or more acids, such as citric acid, phosphoric acid and carbonic acid. These acids can literally strip the enamel from your teeth. Although this doesn't happen overnight, the damage becomes visible over the course of several months and years. This could undermine your whitening efforts.

Although enamel is white, the layer under enamel, called dentin, is naturally yellow in colour. The more soft drinks you consume, the more enamel your teeth will lose. In turn, this will expose more of the yellow dentin layer underneath. As a result, your teeth will appear more yellow than they should.

Because dentin is porous, it is impossible to whiten. So, while you can still whiten your teeth, your results will be limited by the visible dentin underneath.

After: Acidic Drinks Damage Weakened Enamel

Acidic fizzy drinks can also damage your enamel after your teeth whitening treatment. After your whitening treatment, you should avoid drinking acidic drinks for at least 48 hours. This is because your teeth become dehydrated during the whitening procedure, and the pores in your enamel open up. This helps the bleaching agent penetrate your tooth, leading to better results.

However, in this weakened state, your teeth have little protection against acidic foods and beverages. If you drink fizzy drinks too soon after whitening, the acid in the drink will attack your enamel, weakening it further. In addition, the acidity of your saliva will increase, essentially bathing your teeth in acid for several minutes.

This won't just damage your teeth and affect your whitening results, but it will also cause you considerable pain since the acid will penetrate your teeth via their pores and irritate the nerves.

If you are planning to whiten your teeth, remember, soft drinks can weaken the effects of your whitening treatment. Cut down on soft drinks before your treatment and refrain from drinking them for 72 hours afterwards, and you will give yourself a better chance of achieving the shade of white you want.

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