Although teeth whitening procedures performed in a dentist's office and teeth whiteners that can be used at home are an excellent way to improve one's smile, the latter mentioned methods are not an overnight process. Consequently, if you are looking to get and maintain a healthy smile with beautiful white teeth, you will need to take some stain preventing measures. There are a number of things that you can do to help keep your teeth white.

In addition to using teeth whitening products, you will want to minimize the habits you have that produce teeth stains in the first place. Smoking is not only bad for your health, but it's bad for your smile. The nicotine in cigarettes stains teeth to the extent that teeth whitening products have to work overtime: the amount of time it takes to achieve the desired affect from teeth whiteners nearly doubles if the individual using the product is a smoker. Further, if one uses teeth whiteners and continues to smoke, the act of smoking defeats the purpose of whitening the teeth in the first place.

Also, in addition to using teeth whiteners, you should also avoid ingesting stain producing liquids. Coffee and tea are some of the biggest culprits: coffee stains accumulate quickly and lengthen the time that a teeth whitener must be used to reverse the effects of staining. If you simply must have your cup of coffee, be sure to brush your teeth as soon as possible to reduce the appearance of coffee stains.