3 DIY Tooth Whitening Methods And Whether They Work
White teeth are a sign of good health, but they’re also a sign of beauty and something people can be very self-conscious about. The best way to whiten teeth is by using peroxide, but it’s not a perfect solution and it has a way of sensitizing your teeth for a while even while under the care of a professional dentist.
Because of this, you can find a lot of fads and homemade solutions to whiten teeth, and while some of them work at least to some extent, not all of them are as useful as people claim.
Oil Pulling
“Oil pulling” refers to an old practice from India of rinsing the mouth with vegetable oil for up to 20 minutes. Some who practice it claim oil pulling whitens teeth and can replace brushing. And there is some scientific basis to oil pulling: the oil can pick up bacteria because every cell uses lipids (the main part of fat molecules) for its walls, and it starves the bacteria since they need sugars to survive.
But the studies that show that oil pulling works are incomplete and only show that it works as well as mouthwash. It doesn’t whiten teeth, and at best it can only add to your daily brushing and flossing routine.
Strawberries
A more recent claim has been to combine crushed strawberries with baking soda, rub it on your teeth, and then remove it after a few minutes. Baking soda does whiten teeth to some extent by removing surface stains, but the strawberries contain acid, which neutralizes the baking soda, and sugars, which feed the bacteria in your mouth. If using this mix appears to whiten your teeth, it’s only because you have to brush it off and brushing removes plaque. So skip the mix and use toothpaste instead.
Charcoal
Activated charcoal works wonders in air and water filters, but as teeth cleaning goes it’s not your best option. Charcoal is gritty, even when you crush it into a powder and put it in a paste, and that grit will scrape away your enamel if you brush with it. So while it may look like your teeth become whiter after you grind off the surface stains, what you’re really doing is weakening your teeth.
Perfectly white teeth can be hard to get, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. But while there are ways to clean stains and make teeth appear whiter without using peroxides, you need to be careful which methods you pick. Remember to always do the research before you do anything that might be permanent to your teeth.