Home Remedies for Teeth
Whitening
Home Remedies for Teeth
Whitening
There are a variety of home
remedies suggested by people to whiten
your teeth, and with varying degrees of
success.
Most of these home remedies for
teeth whitening can help in the short
term, using ingredients you have at home,
such as baking soda, vinegar, lemon
juice, and salt. If you are careful,
these can help you to keep your teeth
looking whiter.
Many teeth whitening processes
involve rubbing your teeth with abrasive
materials, but you want to avoid rubbing
them too much, because if you rub off the
top layer of your teeth, the tooth
enamel, your dentine layer will be
exposed.
This is harmful to your teeth as
well as making your teeth look greyish.
Use caution and a soft bristle brush with
home-made teeth whitening attempts.
Here are a few home remedies for teeth
whitening you could try (not all at
once!):
1. Lemon Juice (either from a
bottle or from a lemon) mixed with a bit
of table salt. In a small cup, mix the
cupful of lemon juice with two to three
very small spoonfuls of salt. Dip your
toothbrush in and gently rub. Rinse mouth
with water. Do not apply salt directly to
the brush. Do this once every second day
for up to 5 times. After doing this,
brush your teeth with toothpaste – acids
can actually cause tooth staining if left
on the teeth.
2. Try fruit! Rub a strawberry on your front
teeth before brushing your teeth with regular
or whitening toothpaste.
3. Baking soda. Mix fresh baking soda with some
cold water and gently rub teeth with the
mixture. Use the flat part of your finger or a
soft bristle toothbrush dipped into the baking
soda to apply the baking soda to your front
teeth. Do not rub vigorously or with a hard
toothbrush. Let the baking soda sit for a
couple of minutes, rubbing gently. Rinse mouth
with clean water.
4. Or, try vinegar! Dip a soft toothbrush in
vinegar and brush gently. Avoid excessive
vinegar on your gums, the acid can make your
gums feel unpleasant. Rinse mouth with water
after. To get between the teeth, try dipping
your floss in vinegar before flossing.
5. Make a paste of vinegar with baking soda.
Mix vinegar with baking soda and apply the
paste to your front teeth with your finger,
rubbing gently using up and down motions.
Rinse mouth with water. While rinsing, force
water between teeth by closing teeth and
pouring water into your mouth.
6. Some people try brushing or even rinsing
their teeth with hydrogen peroxide. This may
whiten your teeth, but the peroxide can damage
your gums and the lining of your mouth. Also,
keep in mind that the concentration of hydrogen
peroxide in the bottles you can buy, and in the
whitening agents you can buy, is different. If
you do choose to do this, dab the peroxide on a
tiny bit at a time with a cotton swab, to
prevent any peroxide from touching your
gums.
An important thing to remember with these home
remedies for teeth whitening methods is to be
patient. It will take time to remove the stains
on the teeth, and it may take several weeks to
see results. Don’t forget to continue your
normal teeth and mouth cleaning regimen as
well.
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