How to Naturally Whiten Your Teeth at Home
Many people today face the problem of yellow teeth. Yellow teeth are caused by a few factors such as certain foods and drinks (coffee, red wine and tea), cigarettes, poor oral hygiene and our age. Fortunately, we can turn those yellow teeth to white, sparkly ones with some easy steps. Besides plenty of whitening techniques that use harmful chemicals, there are some simple ways to naturally whiten your teeth at home. These healthy and natural alternative solutions are proven to whiten your teeth after some time of regular usage and what’s really important is they do not contain harmful ingredients. Some of these miraculous ingredients include baking soda, coconut oil, hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar and certain fruits and vegetables.
1. Baking soda
Baking soda is an already popular ingredient in toothpaste and several studies where toothpaste containing baking soda were tested proved its efficacy. Its efficiency is based on the fact that it has properties of a mild abrasive which gently scrubs away the stains on the teeth.
Additionally, it keeps your mouth free of bacteria. The conclusion is that using baking soda as one of the natural ways to whiten teeth will keep your mouth bacteria-free and remove yellow stains on your teeth.
For this natural remedy, you’ll need:
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda and
- 2 teaspoons of water
Mixed together in a paste. Use the mixture to brush your teeth with a few times a week. You should see the results after some time.
2. Coconut oil
This may sound surprising to you, but coconut oil works wonders as one of the ways to naturally whiten your teeth. This effective procedure is referred to as oil pulling and it is a traditional Indian folk remedy. Its basic purpose is to improve oral hygiene and remove toxins from our bodies.
Oil pulling means swishing it around your mouth to remove bacteria which create plaque, leaving you with yellow teeth as a result. Sunflower and sesame oil will also do the trick, but people prefer coconut oil as it’s taste is quite pleasant.
3. Hydrogen Peroxide
Among the ways to naturally whiten your teeth is definitely the usage of hydrogen peroxide, which acts as natural bleaching substance, efficient in killing bacteria as well. Some studies have found that toothpaste containing both baking soda and hydrogen peroxide had significantly whiter teeth as a result.
However, we need to approach its usage carefully as it appears that higher concentrations or overuse can lead to gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. How to use it safely? Well, there are a few ways actually. One way is to use it as a mouth wash before brushing your teeth.
Use a 1.5% or 3% solution as the safest options.
Another popular use for it is to mix it with baking soda to make a paste.
In order to make the paste, you’ll need:
- 2 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide and
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
Brush your teeth with the paste a few times a week.
However, sometimes, home remedies simply don’t suffice. Some oral hygiene problems can’t be solved with natural remedies. Fortunately for us, we can contact an emergency dentist easily at any time we experience some troubles with our teeth.
4. Apple cider vinegar
Another product that enables teeth whitening at home is apple cider vinegar. This product serves as a disinfectant and natural cleaning product. It has been used for centuries. Apple cider vinegar consists of acetic acid, responsible for killing bacteria. Some studies proved that it has whitening properties. However, the acid also erodes the enamel on our teeth causing them to soften over time. Because of this, it shouldn’t be applied too often. It can be used as a mouthwash, diluted with water. After using it, rinse your mouth with plain water.
5. Fruits and vegetables
This may come as a surprise to you, but certain fruits and vegetables are used to whiten teeth naturally. A popular fruit to start with are strawberries. Strawberry and baking soda mixture is quite a famous one.
To make this paste:
- smash a strawberry or a few
- and mix them with baking soda.
Pineapple and papayas are rich in papain and bromelain, claimed to have whitening effects on our teeth. Some people reported that using lemon and orange peel whitened their teeth, but it is not confirmed by science.
We should be very mindful of our oral hygiene. Healthy life habits such as organic food intake, avoiding cigarettes and alcohol, regular flossing and dental checkups all lead to having healthy teeth. In order to achieve sparkly white teeth, we might have to introduce some other natural remedies that we mentioned throughout the text. It is also recommended to see a dentist on a regular bases for good oral health.
Do you have any tips, suggestions, ideas or opinions on how to whiten your teeth naturally? If so please share them in the comment section below. Please share this article to help spread the word of natural and healthy living to everyone we can.
