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I am bleaching my teeth and have two questions: 1. Have heard that bleaching makes teeth more porous and actually increases their susceptibility to staining...Is this true? 2. If I add sufficient cream to my coffee to make it practically white, will this decrease the staining potential of the coffee? thanks

Thank you for your insightful questions regarding bleaching. The bleaching agents we use today for whitening your teeth act by removing stains which have built up in the surface enamel of your teeth over the course of a lifetime. On a microscopic level, our teeth are very porous, and bleaching may act to clear out many of these pores, thereby making them more porous. I am not aware of any studies which indicate an increased susceptibility to staining after bleaching your teeth. In fact, studies have shown that, though bleached teeth do stain again with time, they almost always remain some degree whiter than
prior to bleaching! Though I can not base my answer on clinical research, I can tell you that diluting your coffee with milk, or other non-bleaching fluids, does reduce the amount of staining of your teeth. I also recommend rinsing with water and brushing your teeth shortly after drinking coffee to remove excessive staining agents.

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