Simple Ways to Naturally Whiten Your Teeth at Home
- 2 years ago
Could the secret to a brilliant smile be as close as your pantry? A rash of articles and banners proclaim the ticket to a dazzling smile is as simple as grabbing a scoop from the box of baking soda every kitchen already has. But can baking soda really whiten your smile?
The short answer is yes - even Wikipedia agrees that using a healthy scoop of baking soda when you're brushing your teeth can remove surface stains and whiten your teeth. But is it really effective? Well, that depends on what you mean by effective.
While brushing your teeth with a simple paste of baking soda and water is undisputedly safe and is the least expensive whitening product you'll ever buy (a standard box of Arm & Hammer sells for less than $1), there's a downside as well. In a word, it's abrasive.
While the abrasive nature of baking soda is highly effective at "scrubbing" external stains from the surface of your tooth enamel, the level of abrasiveness that comes with it is highly aggressive. Imagine what the gleaming ceramic finish on your sink or bathtub would look like if you scrubbed it with an abrasive cleanser each day? In a matter of days, the formerly shining surface would become lifeless and dull. This is exactly what happens to the enamel on your teeth. Brushing with baking soda can thin the enamel surface on your teeth, just like the daily rubbing with fine sand that occurs in nature will abrade even the hardest rock or stone structure in time. When the enamel is thin, it is more transparent and it reveals more of the color of yellow or gray dentin of the natural tooth-the exact opposite of the benefit you want to achieve.
Furthermore, even aside from the risk of thinning your tooth enamel, baking soda doesn't produce a dramatic improvement in the shade of your teeth. At best, regular brushing with baking soda will whiten your teeth by a paltry 1-2 shades. Compared to the 7-9 shades of improvement from therapies such as laser therapy or bleaching with a high quality 22% carbamide peroxide gel (like the kind you'd get from your dentist), baking soda is a poor bargain indeed.
Dental experts suggest that while baking soda is a safe and fine substitute for toothpaste in a pinch. But as a whitening product, it's only good for occasional touch-ups.
A Better Answer - Carbamide Peroxide Whitening Gel
It's no wonder teeth whitening is a $300M industry today. The poor results of most over-the-counter whitening products is driving consumers to shell out hundreds of dollars to their dentists for professional whitening each year. The dentist's options may vary, but most dentists recommend and use a bleaching chemical known as carbamide peroxide for whitening teeth. This bleaching agent is extremely safe and when it's used properly, it rarely irritates gums. In fact, carbamide peroxide has become the gold standard for most teeth whitening procedures.
The result of whitening with carbamide peroxide can be nothing short of extraordinary. After just 7-10 days of treatme
The short answer is yes - even Wikipedia agrees that using a healthy scoop of baking soda when you're brushing your teeth can remove surface stains and whiten your teeth. But is it really effective? Well, that depends on what you mean by effective.
While brushing your teeth with a simple paste of baking soda and water is undisputedly safe and is the least expensive whitening product you'll ever buy (a standard box of Arm & Hammer sells for less than $1), there's a downside as well. In a word, it's abrasive.
While the abrasive nature of baking soda is highly effective at "scrubbing" external stains from the surface of your tooth enamel, the level of abrasiveness that comes with it is highly aggressive. Imagine what the gleaming ceramic finish on your sink or bathtub would look like if you scrubbed it with an abrasive cleanser each day? In a matter of days, the formerly shining surface would become lifeless and dull. This is exactly what happens to the enamel on your teeth. Brushing with baking soda can thin the enamel surface on your teeth, just like the daily rubbing with fine sand that occurs in nature will abrade even the hardest rock or stone structure in time. When the enamel is thin, it is more transparent and it reveals more of the color of yellow or gray dentin of the natural tooth-the exact opposite of the benefit you want to achieve.
Furthermore, even aside from the risk of thinning your tooth enamel, baking soda doesn't produce a dramatic improvement in the shade of your teeth. At best, regular brushing with baking soda will whiten your teeth by a paltry 1-2 shades. Compared to the 7-9 shades of improvement from therapies such as laser therapy or bleaching with a high quality 22% carbamide peroxide gel (like the kind you'd get from your dentist), baking soda is a poor bargain indeed.
Dental experts suggest that while baking soda is a safe and fine substitute for toothpaste in a pinch. But as a whitening product, it's only good for occasional touch-ups.
A Better Answer - Carbamide Peroxide Whitening Gel
It's no wonder teeth whitening is a $300M industry today. The poor results of most over-the-counter whitening products is driving consumers to shell out hundreds of dollars to their dentists for professional whitening each year. The dentist's options may vary, but most dentists recommend and use a bleaching chemical known as carbamide peroxide for whitening teeth. This bleaching agent is extremely safe and when it's used properly, it rarely irritates gums. In fact, carbamide peroxide has become the gold standard for most teeth whitening procedures.
The result of whitening with carbamide peroxide can be nothing short of extraordinary. After just 7-10 days of treatme