Home Remedies for Whiter Teeth

Portraiture (Portfolio)

“Portraiture (Portfolio)” by Jake Guild (CC BY 2.0), via Flickr.com

Teeth that are brilliantly white and dazzling are a sign of youth and good health. However, dentist whitening can get incredibly costly and it may cause tooth sensitivity and gum irritation.  There are many Home Remedies for Whiter Teeth that can convert your pearly whites fast and pure without awful side effects.

These can be incorporated into your day so that you don’t have to take away time from your busy schedule to keep your teeth white and clean.

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Read below to find the best home remedies for whiter teeth using some common ingredients you may not realize can help to keep your teeth white.

What Am I Doing to Need a Home Remedy?

The following are common causes of tooth staining, discoloration and yellowing.  A good regimen that includes some of the ingredients below can help to offset any of these:

  • Dark-colored drinks and foods

  • Chewing tobacco and smoking
  • Frequent consumption of beverages and foods that contain acid
  • Poor dental hygiene
  • Certain medications, such as doxycycline, chlorhexidine, minocycline and tetracycline
  • Excessive fluoride
  • Aging
  • Genetics

If you are suffering from any of these, you may need some of the Home Remedies for Whiter Teeth we feature below.

Using Baking Soda to Whiten Teeth

Homemade Teeth Whitening using Baking Soda

By Yingluck (Own work) (CC-BY-SA-3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Baking soda works as a mild abrasive which helps to remove stains, revealing whiter teeth.

This is more effective for newer stains, but not for stains that have been present for several years.

Baking soda is also effective in removing plaque which helps to reduce the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

In many ways, baking soda works equally as well as the best whitening toothpaste available.

It’s a great homemade teeth whitening trick!

Baking Soda Options

Using baking soda to whiten teeth is easy.  And, you just add it to your normal dental routine using one of the following options:

  • Brush your teeth with a mixture of toothpaste and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda. After brushing, use a warm water rinse to remove any residue.

  • Create a rinse with a cup of cold water, a half teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide and one tablespoon of baking soda. Make sure to stir and mix this well and then use it as you would regular mouthwash. This makes enough for three rinses.

  • Another mixture that can be made into a paste or a rinse, depending your preference, includes white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice.

  • The simplest homemade teeth whitening method with baking soda is simply to scrub teeth with a toothbrush and diluted baking soda for two minutes. For the first week, do this twice with three days in between treatments, and then repeat the treatment once every two weeks.

Baking soda should not be used more than twice a week because the abrasiveness can wear away tooth enamel if it is used daily.

You should also avoid baking soda as a home remedies for whiter teeth choice if you have a permanent retainer or braces adhered to the teeth with orthodontic glue because baking soda can soften the glue.

Do Strawberries Whiten Your Teeth?

Strawberries are a natural homemade teeth whitening fruit because they contain malic acid. Malic acid breaks down discoloration and stains on tooth enamel.

This acid is both good and bad, and it’s important to use it in moderation.

How to Whiten Teeth at Home using Strawberries

By Aardbei Karina (GNU Free Documentation License), (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Ideally, you will use this homemade teeth whitening method just once a week at most (or not at all; see below).  While malic acid is a potent stain remover, too much malic acid can erode tooth enamel, and once enamel is gone you can’t get it back.

To use strawberries to whiten teeth, crush a strawberry until it’s finely ground down into a paste and then mix in about a quarter teaspoon of baking soda.

Using a soft-bristled toothbrush, apply this paste to your teeth and allow this to sit for about five minutes. You can use mouth guards to help keep the mixture in place for optimal whitening.

After the five minutes are up, simply brush and floss as you normally would. Since malic acid is strong and baking soda is abrasive, it is best to brush your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush after this treatment to minimize trauma to the enamel.

While this might be the most fun home remedies for whiter teeth, we found that this method of teeth whitening was probably the least effective.

Like mentioned above there are studies that show malic acid to have detrimental affects on your teeth when used long term.  Other studies also showed that the whitening effects of strawberries was not only less effective, but in most cases non-existent.

So, no need to avoid strawberries.  But, if you do want to try this method, do it in moderation.

Can Salt Whiten Your Teeth?

Salt

Fleur de Sel sea salt from Guérande, France, By Christian Mertes (GNU Free Documentation License), (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Salt has been used for hundreds of years as a dental cleansing agent.

In addition to working as a homemade teeth whitening agent, it also aids in replacing lost mineral content within teeth.

If you find you need to be on a low salt diet, but do need more mineral content in your teeth, there are special toothpaste products than can help.

Combine Salt with baking soda.  This adds the abrasiveness of the salt to the features that baking soda provides.

To use salt, consider the following instructions:

  • Use Salt once a day without any issues.  And, add it to toothpaste to make your toothpaste a bit more abrasive. This helps to remove plaque and surface stains on teeth.

  • Salt can be mixed with baking soda and used as a scrub for your teeth. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush or a clean finger to gently scrub your teeth with this mixture. This mixture should only be used once a week due to the abrasiveness of both ingredients.

Salt is rough and scratchy so use extra care when using it to scrub your teeth. If you have very sensitive gums, you might want to skip on this homemade trick because it can be too irritating.

Whitening Teeth with Hydrogen Peroxide

Homemade Whitening Big Teeth (hydrogen peroxide is the best of any of our Home Remedies for Whiter Teeth)

Permanent Maxillary Central Incisors. Photo taken by dozenist (GNU Free Documentation License), via Wikimedia Commons

Using hydrogen peroxide to whiten teeth is one of the fastest methods you can try.

It is frequently used in dental office whitening procedures in the form of carbamide peroxide. The strengths used at the dentist are much higher than the peroxide you get at a pharmacy for home use, increasing the likelihood of potential side effects.

Hydrogen peroxide is a very effective tooth bleaching agent. Over time, it can transform yellow teeth back into pearly whites.

You can use it as a rinse in which you swish it around your mouth just like mouthwash, but be careful to not swallow it.

Two Home Remedies Unite!

You can also make a paste using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Since these two agents together are highly abrasive, you shouldn’t use this paste more than once a week.

MaxxFoam has a hydrogen peroxide product that is very easy to use at home.  If you’re looking for a product that is making everyone that uses it happy, this would be the product to check out.

Studies on hydrogen peroxide for use in dental care, including as a DIY homemade teeth whitening agent, conclude:

  • No reports show adverse health effects when using toothpastes with 1.5 percent hydrogen peroxide two times a day for as long as six months.

  • No adverse health effects (inside the mouth, tongue, or gums) have been reported using 1.5 percent hydrogen peroxide solution one or two times a day for as long as two years.

  • Those who have had previous mouth injuries are at risk for mouth irritation when using three percent hydrogen peroxide solution three to five times daily.

  • Tongue and gum effects are seen in people using a six percent hydrogen peroxide solution to brush the teeth and rinse the mouth two to three times a day.

Wrap Up: Home Remedies for Whiter Teeth

White teeth are attainable with things you already have in your kitchen and medicine cabinet. Homemade teeth whitening is easy and it is also very affordable.

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While each remedy is different in terms of use and precautions, many can be combined so that you can quickly and easily maintain brilliantly white teeth without the need for harsh dental ingredients and products.


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