Home Remedies That Can Help Whiten Teeth
Whitening your teeth at home
There are many ways you can whiten your teeth with a few simple items you probably already have around the house. If you have baking soda and hydrogen peroxide you could make a simple, yet effective paste for a little at home do it yourself whitening. Take two teaspoons of baking soda and two teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide. You then mix these two simple ingredients together in a small bowl creating a paste. You are looking for the consistency of toothpaste so continue to add a bit of peroxide until you reach the desired consistency. Once you have the consistency right, simply brush with this homemade paste for two minutes, being careful not to swallow.
After two minutes rinse your mouth well and then brush with your regular toothpaste which will not only get rid of the taste but will remove all of the peroxide residue. If you want to skip mixing you can simply use peroxide as a mouthwash and swish with it for a minute following brushing. You will probably feel some burning, which is normal, but you will be left with whiter teeth. Be sure not to swallow any and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards.
If you want something a little tastier try strawberries! For a quick fix you can simply rub the strawberry across your teeth. You can also mash the strawberry and use it as a paste. The secret to this inexpensive home whitening method is malic acid, which acts as an astringent to remove surface discoloration. Because of the sugars and acid also found in strawberries it is important to brush immediately following using the strawberry trick to keep the sugars from damaging your white smile. It is recommended to brush with a fluoride toothpaste and then floss to make sure you didn't miss any seeds. To help protect your enamel it is important not to use this remedy too often. Every couple of weeks should be safe and sufficient.
There are some foods that can help whiten your teeth just by eating them. Foods like celery, apples, pears and carrots trigger lots of saliva which helps to scrub away stains on your teeth. Chewing sugarless gum also triggers saliva, which helps to eliminate teeth stains. The trick with saliva is that it neutralizes acid that causes tooth decay.
You may have heard that lemon juice is good for whitening your teeth. This is not true. The acidity in the lemon juice actually causes your teeth to lose calcium which mean irreparable damage. Calcium is a major component of healthy teeth, and once it is lost, your teeth become very susceptible to decay. So as you can see with some simple homemade recipes it is easier than ever to brighten your smile.
