Natural Teeth Whitening Methods

The teeth whitening industry has become a lucrative industry with many different companies involved in many different types of products. So it is easy to forget about a category of teeth whitening methods that costs little to none; the natural teeth whitening methods. The methods that will be described for you involve whitening methods that were used by many. These people achieved various degrees of success while not spending a penny on the products and services offered by the teeth whitening industry. It is important to remember that although these natural teeth whiteners do have a degree of affect, they may not compare to the results that commercial teeth whitening products and professional teeth whitening services may bring.

Using lemon juice and lemon peels has been a method proven to work. You can either use the lemon juice to brush your teeth, or rub lemon peels against your teeth to give a whitening effect. However, this proven method does not come without its price. The citric acid in the lemon will decay your teeth and will damage the tooth enamel, the mineral-like armor of the teeth. Using this natural teeth whitener will give short term pleasure, but will have a long term bad effect on the teeth. This method should be used sparingly, if used at all.

This may be a surprising method to whiten teeth naturally. Strawberries contain natural abrasives that can be used to whiten your teeth. To use strawberries for this purpose, you should mash up the strawberries into a paste and use that to brush your teeth. However, strawberries, like lemon, may not be the best option. Strawberries contain malic acid and sugar that can be damaging to the teeth enamel. It is advisable to brush your teeth after using this method or, at the very least, rinse your mouth with water.

Another surprising of natural whitening teeth is using wood ash. The potassium hydroxide in hardwood ash is the bleaching agent. Like the previous methods, wood ash is used by brushing your teeth with it. However, it may not be the best method. The potassium component also harms teeth enamel over time, not to mention that wood ash tastes bad and might not be very comfortable to use.

Using baking soda will most likely be one you are familiar with. And it is no surprise that it is so, it has been effective time and time again in removing stains. Baking soda comes with an additional benefit; it kills the bacteria that cause plaque and neutralizes the acids that harm the enamel. To use it in whitening your teeth, add water to dilute the baking soda and brush using the baking soda, while gently passing around the gums. Otherwise, the baking soda may irritate your gums. This method is very popular and one of the safest. You may also want to purchase toothpaste containing baking soda for this purpose.

Hydrogen peroxide might be another method that you are familiar with. Hydrogen peroxide is what many commercial whitening products and services use to bleach teeth. However, in this case, the peroxide being used is the over-the-counter lower concentration peroxide, unlike the high concentrations of peroxide that dental clinics use. To use this method, first, you brush your teeth normally. Then you swish some peroxide in your mouth. However, you should be careful not to swallow the peroxide, as doing so is very, very dangerous to your health. After swishing the peroxide, you should then rinse your mouth again with some water. Another option is dipping your toothbrush into the peroxide and brushing with the peroxide. Below is a video explaining the second option.

Like with other commercial peroxide based whitening methods, the peroxide may cause your gums to irritate and your teeth to be sensitive. You should consider stopping for a while if this happens. However, this method will not bring the relatively quick whitening effect other peroxide based products may bring, as it uses a low concentration of peroxide.