Keeping teeth healthy and white is not just a matter of brushing, flossing and using great quality teeth whitening products but has far more fundamental roots and starts with great nutrition. Teeth are in themselves pretty complex. Good whitening products will keep the tough, smooth enamel gleaming white and free of stains but you need more than even the best whitening kits to make sure your teeth are healthy inside and out. And it isn't just about teeth; your gums that cradle your teeth in the jaw need plenty of TLC too.

Tooth anatomy
Inside the tooth, where teeth whitening kits just can't reach is dentine and pulp. Although unaffected by teeth whitening kits these deep parts of the tooth play their part in keeping teeth looking white. They contain the blood supply and the nerves and should a tooth die, this pulpy stuff inside decays and turns black giving a greyish appearance. Eating a diet rich in protein helps repair any damage to these areas and encourages cell renewal. Get plenty of calcium and help to protect the enamel which is, essentially, specialised bone. If the enamel thins the dark pulp in the centre of the tooth becomes more obvious.

A healthy diet can take its toll on your teeth
We are constantly reminded that we should aim to eat at least five good portions of fruit and vegetable each and every day. While there are well documented health benefits associated with this practice, including benefits to oral health of course, fruit and vegetables as well as fruit juices which can count towards your five a day can be rather acidic and contain fructose, fruit sugar. Whitening products can remove the stains left behind from eating darkly coloured fruit and vegetables and brushing and rinsing in particular play an important role in neutralising food acids that can damage tooth enamel that even the best teeth whitening product cannot repair.

Sugar - the old enemy
Since the day you got your very first tooth you've been warned about the effects sugar might have on your pearly whites. Sugar, and other foods too, don't just feed you, they feed plaque bacteria in your mouth too. These bacteria excrete - that is, make wastes - that attack enamel and gums. The first sign that there may be a problem is bleeding gums. This indicates gum disease which is the main cause of loss of adult teeth. Whitening products contain ingredients that kill these bacteria and promote healthy teeth and gums.

No one should consider cutting fruit and vegetables out of their diet for the sake of whitening - not while the whitening products so easily available now are so very effective.