Teeth Whitening
Everyone wants a glamorous movie-star smile, and by today's standards, the whiter your teeth, the better. Of course, we all can't afford multiple visits to the dentist and stains do come back, making it a recurring problem.
Even with proper care, your teeth can be stained by coffee, soda, tea, medicines, and smoking. The residue of food seeps into the fine cracks of your teeth, making it nearly impossible to brush out. Whitening toothpastes only bleach out minor discolorations. The older the stain, the more difficult it is to get rid of.
Home Remedies
In most cases, cheap toothpaste doesn't cut it. An expensive toothpaste is often needed for a brighter smile. Unfortunately, getting your teeth whitened professionally is not an option for everyone. If you want to forego the creams, bleaches, trays, and gels found in drugstores, you can take the natural approach and use any of the following home remedies for whiter teeth that are both cheap and effective.
Baking Soda: An old-time favorite, baking soda has many purposes, including tooth whitening. Most dentists agree that it's safe to use and works fairly quickly. You can use it alone on a damp toothbrush or mix it with toothpaste to help neutralize the salty taste.
Hydrogen Peroxide: One of the most popular home remedies, peroxide, is cheap and most people have it on hand. Chances are, you will feel some burning in your gums, but you'll be left with clean, whiter teeth. Typically, most people will see results within a couple of weeks but it can happen much sooner. It's also safe to gargle, but don't swallow.
Brush your teeth as you normally do, and then swish for about a minute. Follow up by spitting it out and rinsing thoroughly with water. Another way to use it is by dipping a cotton swap in the solution and gently rubbing it into your teeth, front and back.
Strawberries: Not many people are aware that strawberries contain natural teeth whitening agents and the seeds work great for cleaning. Since they also contain sugar and acids, it's important to brush immediately afterwards with a fluoride toothpaste. For easy and quick application, you can either rub the strawberry against your teeth, or mash it up and use it like toothpaste.
Wood Ash: Strange as it may sound, hard wood ash helps whiten teeth. It contains potassium hydroxide, a compound that will bleach your teeth. The tiny crystals scrape off plague in hard to reach places and will scrub them clean. However, using wood ash often or scrubbing too hard can wear down your tooth enamel, so it's best to avoid using it for long periods of time. To apply it to your teeth, you can put it directly on your toothbrush or mix it with a small amount of toothpaste.
Homemade tooth paste: One of the better home recipes for whiter teeth is a paste consisting of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, table salt and a dab of toothpaste. Mix it all together and brush away stains.
More Options for Whiter Teeth
Orange Peel: An orange peel rubbed across the teeth can also help whiten them. Citric acid naturally has properties that help to whiten the teeth, so either an orange or lemon peel could be used for this purpose.
Lemon Juice: The acid in lemon juice is strong and can eat the enamel off of your teeth. Combining it with baking soda helps to buffer it and won't destroy the enamel, as long as this treatment isn't overused. A paste made with a teaspoon of lemon juice mixed with a teaspoon of salt can also be used as a tooth whitener. Brush your teeth with this paste to help exfoliate and remove stains from the teeth. Again though, don't use this paste often because the acids in lemon juice can eat away the enamel on your teeth.
You can combine any of the above ingredients with wood ash, strawberries, hydrogen peroxide or baking soda for some extra whitening power. Always clean the ingredients off of your teeth when you're finished by rinsing and brushing with commercial toothpaste.
Remember that teeth naturally have a yellowish tint because of calcium, an essential mineral for strong tooth enamel. Brushing too hard and using lemon juice, an acid, or any form of vitamin C will eat away the surface. Once your tooth enamel is ruined, it's permanent. Your teeth will be considerably weaker and much more prone to cavities and sensitivity. All home remedies should be used in moderation and monitored closely.
Great tips, from my personal experience baking soda really works with good results.
ReplyDeleteNile...Yes I use it myself..Thanks for visiting
ReplyDeleteCarl dear friend,
ReplyDeleteI loved your text.
I am fanatical about my teeth.
I always tried bleaching and all.
Now I do bleaching called ZOOM.
The Brazilian did not really like taking care of the teeth, finds expensive.
Some prefer to buy expensive clothes than go to the dentist.
The oral hygiene is essential. I think.
Thanks for the facebook message I adore.
Big kiss
Hi Carl,I really enjoyed this post,definitely! I just went to a wedding in VA so I whitened my teeth before I left, and I totally just should have tried some of these ideas first, would have saved me a lot of money!
ReplyDeleteTHanks for your comment! I've been having fun dressing up my site for the holiday! :) As for the ghost, yes, I have definitely tried to chat with them on more than one occassion, but with no results. I'm really interested to find out more about this guy..... tell me about your experience, I'd LOVE to hear your story! :)
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteIt is always nice to see you here. I have not used Zoom but I found it on the web..Of course your teeth look beautiful with every smile I see in your pictures! Maybe you should charge Zoom for you good advertizing of their product!haha
Big Kiss
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI know teeth whitening is expensive..I have spent a lot myself in the past but the truth is we can do it cheaper and safe ourselves! See what works for you and maybe you can eliminate a dentist bill or two..Ohh just be careful with the lemon juice..can do damage..
I will catch up with you about our ghost stories! haha
take care always
Take adequate measures of dental hygiene. Brush your teeth after every meal, or at least in the morning and before going to bed. While brushing your teeth, take care to sweep out all the embedded food particles. This is the most natural way to keep your teeth white
ReplyDeleteBackache Treatment..Very good advise!
ReplyDeleteHi, this blog is really amazing and provide me answers to all my questions. This is really informative and I will for sure refer my friends the same. I got the freebies with the ComLuv premium and adding this now makes it all even juicier than ever.
ReplyDeleteMobile Teeth Whitening in South Florida
After reading some nice stuff in your article I really feel speechless want to learn about Teeth Whitening services FloridaThanks for giving me such type of useful information.
ReplyDeleteHey... It's interesting home remedies for teeth whitening which are very good to have the natural cure, Thank you so much.
ReplyDelete