9 Must-Try Home Remedies To Whiten Teeth Naturally And Fast

Updated: 07/27/2019

Having white pearls is very important in today’s culture, so there is a growing number of people using white strips at home and going for professional help through in-office whitening treatments. Actually, upon communicating, the teeth are some of the first things that people notice. They signal health status and confidence as well. Upon making the first impression, most people worry about having crooked, aged or discolored teeth, sending a signal that they do not care about themselves much. Do you want to have sparkling, white teeth? This article will show you effective but natural home remedies to whiten teeth safely.

Sadly, some people, regardless of their teeth brushing frequency, have stained teeth due to habits such as smoking and drinking tea or coffee^[1]. Yellow or brown-tinted teeth could imply a more significant problem, such as thinning enamel, unhealthy gums, and overall poor dental hygiene. Whitening teeth alone will help protect the gums and teeth from cavities as well as diseases, including gingivitis. Thus, while white teeth are a good thing to achieve, it aids in keeping things in perspective.

Why Do Our Teeth Turn Yellow?

Teeth become yellow, discolored, or even have a brown color because of stains developing on both the surface (the enamel) and deeper structure of the teeth.

When tooth enamel is at its thickest, it is white; however, as it is worn down, it starts to show the underneath layer in the tooth named dentine.

This layer becomes more visible when the enamel gets thinner – which is a common occurrence for a large number of adults. Erosive tooth wear or tooth erosion is caused by chronic loss of dental hard tissues which is etched away from the tooth surface by acid as well as chelation. The factors triggering thin enamel include genetics, aging, and food intakes which promote staining and erosion.

Some reasons why teeth turn yellow, beige, brown are:

• Smoking
• Drinking tea or coffee
• Thinning tooth enamel because of aging^[2] [3]
• Having a poor diet that includes lots of processed foods which are high in acid, like soda, soft drinks, candies, and certain fruits. Notably, some specific supplements may also worsen the enamel because of acid content.
• Having dry mouth (because saliva lacking means less protein for the enamel)
• Breathing via the mouth or suffering from blocked nasal passages. Such conditions will lower saliva and prevent the mouth/teeth from remoisturizing
• Excessive fluoride intake, particularly if this habit begins when you are a child
• Antibiotic use^[4]
• Genetic factors
• Dental materials like amalgam restorations^[5], particularly silver sulfide-containing materials, could leave a gray-black color to your teeth
• Overexposure to fluoride: excessive use of fluoride either from artificial sources (fluoride rinses, applications, fluoride toothpaste, oral fluoride supplements) or environmental ones (fluoridated drinking water) could result in teeth discoloration.
• Dental trauma: For instance, the damage from a fall may disturb tooth enamel formation in young children whose teeth are developing. Also, trauma may lead to discoloration to mature teeth.

How To Prevent Teeth Discoloration

If you make some simple lifestyle changes, you can prevent teeth discoloration beforehand. For instance, if you are a smoker or coffee/tea drinker, you should cut back or quit those habits. Besides, improve your dental hygiene by flossing, brushing, using mouthwash every day, and visiting a dental hygienist every six months.

In case your teeth show an abnormal color without explanation, or if there are other symptoms, you should go to a dentist as soon as possible.

9 Best Home Remedies To Whiten Teeth Naturally and Fast

Now, it is time to learn about natural remedies to whiten teeth fast. In fact, there are some options that may help you whiten your pearls, depending on the cause of the discoloration, such as applying appropriate brushing and flossing techniques; avoiding foods and drinks causing stains, bonding, veneering, using at-home whitening agents bought from dentists, following in-office whitening routines, and using OTC whitening agents.

But, here we focus on encouraging people to use natural ingredients to whiten teeth without too much cost. Let’s have a look!

1. Baking Soda

Baking soda, a standard household product, has a lot of uses. It is also found in a variety of toothpaste along with teeth-whitening products. Baking soda may help remove stains from your teeth, and this practice is common. However, it should be used with caution to prevent enamel damage.

Known as sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is an excellent mild abrasive. This abrasiveness is good at removing stains from your pearls and making them brighter and whiter^[6].

Baking soda can be mixed with a more acidic component like lemon juice, vinegar, or salt. Some people even mix it with strawberries. But, the acids could eat away your teeth’s calcium and irritate your gums. Hence, they are not recommended in general.

Here are some ways you can do to get whiter teeth using baking soda.

Method 1: Baking Soda And Water Or Lemon

• Mix a ½ teaspoon of baking soda with several drops of water or lemon juice to have a thick paste
• Apply this paste over your teeth and brush them as usual
• Wait for 2 minutes before spitting it out and rinsing your mouth thoroughly with water.
• Repeat this routine twice or thrice per week for 1-2 weeks to get good results.
• Or, you can dip a wet toothbrush directly into the baking soda and brush your teeth to get similar effects. However, this alternative is not suitable for those who can’t bear the strong taste of this ingredient.

Method 2: Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide

Another excellent household product you can use to whiten teeth is hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide has an antibacterial property and works as a total gum and mouth cleaner^[7]. Thus, it helps keep your mouth free of germs. That is why hydrogen peroxide is often used as a mouthrinse^[8]. You can make this mouthwash by mixing water with hydrogen peroxide at the ratio of 1:1, then swish this mixture around your mouth for 1 minute and spit it out. Finish with a water rinse.

According to researchers, hydrogen peroxide may eradicate harmful bacteria and maintain fresh breath by acting as a natural antibacterial and antiseptic agent. It may provide natural protection against gum diseases such as periodontitis^[9] and gingivitis^[10].

Follow these steps to create one of the best home remedies to whiten teeth using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide:

• Mix hydrogen peroxide with baking soda to have a paste
• Put this paste onto your toothbrush and brush your teeth as usual
• After about 30 minutes, rinse your mouth with water
• Do this 2-3 times per week

Notes:

• Use 3% hydrogen peroxide which can be found in most drugstores. You can also dilute this concentration to just 1.5% by mixing it with water.
• Upon brushing, make sure that you reach the back of your teeth.
• Do not mix too much hydrogen peroxide with baking soda because it may scrub the enamel right off your teeth. This problem is dangerous because enamel may not grow back.
• Do not create a gritty paste, but a runnier one.

2. Oil Pulling

When it comes to home remedies to whiten teeth, oil pulling is well-known. It is a traditional Indian treatment to improve oral hygiene and eliminate toxins from the human body. This practice involves swishing the oil around in the mouth to eradicate bacteria, thereby removing dental plaque, which may cause your teeth to look yellow.

Indians used sesame or sunflower oil for this purpose, but any oil will surely work. A popular choice is coconut oil as it has a pleasant taste and provides you with a lot of extra health benefits. It is also easy-to-find. Being high in lauric acid, coconut oil may alleviate inflammation and kill bacteria^[11]. It also helps reduce plaque related to gingivitis^[12]. On the other hand, daily swishing using sesame oil may reduce the Streptococcus mutans – the primary kind of bacteria causing plaque and  gingivitis – in saliva in just one week^[13]. A lot of people said that they have whiter and brighter pearls after using oil pulling regularly.

What you need to do is:

• Put 1 tablespoon of coconut oil/sesame oil into your mouth
• Push and pull it through the teeth
• Do this for 15 minutes before spitting it out
• Remember that coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so you should wait for several seconds to let it melt. Unlike other herbal remedies for tooth whitening, coconut oil pulling does not cause any damage to your teeth. It is safe to use every day.

3. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has been used for a long time ago as a natural cleaning product as well as a disinfectant.

The acetic acid available in ACV^[14] may kill bacteria effectively. Thanks to the antibacterial effect of vinegar^[15], it is useful to cleanse your mouth and whiten your teeth. Study conducted on cow teeth showed that ACV had a bleaching effect on teeth^[16].

However, because acetic acid in ACV may erode your enamel^[17], you should avoid using ACV daily. Also, limit the amount of time that ACV contacts with your teeth.

To use this substance as a mouthwash, you can dilute it with water, then swish it around your mouth for a few minutes. Then, rinse your mouth with water. After that, brush your teeth again with your regular toothpaste, preferably a non-fluoride paste, or rinse the mouth off thoroughly.

The key to using ACV for getting whiter teeth is consistency. Use it for at least one month continually to see the best results.

4. Apple

Have you ever heard the saying “An apple a day keeps the dentist away” yet? Apple contains vitamin C or ascorbic acid^[18], which is good for your tooth health. It aids in calcium absorption and eliminates debris as well as plaque^[19], thereby, it helps whiten teeth naturally.

5. Strawberries

Some celebrities say that they whiten their teeth using healthy foods such as strawberries^[20]. Berries with its beneficial antioxidants and compounds may benefit your teeth's health. However, they are not the only ones keeping your teeth looking great when you age. The diet quality, in general, is strongly connected with the health of your teeth. Some foods that help keep your gums, as well as teeth healthy and free from diseases, are:

• Milk^[21] and yogurt (among other sources of calcium)
• Magnesium- and potassium-rich foods such as apples, pears, and green veggies
• Mushrooms
• Sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots
• Celery
• Nuts such as almonds and walnuts

6. Pineapple

Some people say that pineapple may whiten teeth naturally. In a study, it was found that a toothpaste having bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapples, was much more effective at eliminating tooth stains than the standard one^[22]. Nevertheless, there is no scientific evidence of eating pineapples

7. Turmeric

Turmeric is mentioned as a natural tooth whitener. Turmeric is known for staining things yellow, including skin, cloth, and other surfaces. It has been used as a dye for fabric. However, not many of us know that it may whiten our teeth surprisingly well. Thanks to the astringent, antimicrobial, antiseptic, and medicinal properties, turmeric may whiten stained teeth naturally^[23] and enhance the overall oral health^[24].

You can combine turmeric with coconut oil to create a solution for teeth whitening. Here are the directions:

• Mix melted virgin coconut oil with turmeric to create a good paste
• Chew a small amount of the dough every morning before brushing your teeth, eating or drinking something
• Spit it out and remember to never swallow it.

8. Xylitol And Cinnamon

This homemade recipe makes use of xylitol, which is a naturally occurring sugar substitute to prevent dental decay^[25]. This ingredient also neutralizes the plaque acid by boosting the concentration of ammonia as well as primary ammonia acid. Cinnamon has been used for a long time to deal with tooth decay, toothache, and other dental issues^[26] [27].

You can mix bentonite clay, cinnamon, baking soda, essential oils, and xylitol together and use the mixture to brush your teeth regularly for the best results.

Home Remedies To Whiten Teeth – Preventative Measures

The human teeth will become yellow naturally when you age; nonetheless, there are some things you could do to prevent this process, including:

• Limit staining foods and drinks:

Red wine, coffee, soda, and dark berries are foods causing stained teeth. It does not mean that you need to avoid them altogether, yet you should reduce the amount of those substances. Or, you can drink those beverages using a straw to prevent them from directly contacting your teeth. Besides, brush your teeth almost right after having these foods and drinks to limit their impacts on your teeth’s color. Also, do not smoke or chew tobacco because it causes tooth discoloration.

• Limit sugar intake:

To have whiter teeth, limit the amount of sugar intake in your current diet. A diet plan high in sugar may accelerate the growth of Streptococcus mutans bacteria, which cause gingivitis and plaque. Upon consuming sugary foods, you need to brush your teeth right after.

• Take plenty of calcium through your diet:

Tooth discoloration may result from enamel erosion and exposing dentine underneath. Thus, taking plenty of calcium will help strengthen your tooth enamel and make your teeth^[28] pearly white. Foods rich in calcium are cheese, milk, and broccoli.

• Brush after eating and drinking:

It is best to brush your teeth right after eating and drinking something. It takes lots of persistence and could be somewhat hard depending on the place and time you eat.

• Drink more plain water after drinking or eating something acidic or staining to reduce negative impacts.

In a nutshell, the above mentioned home remedies to whiten teeth are claimed to make your teeth significantly white.

Remember that using these home remedies as your single oral care tool is not optimal for good health of the mouth. You still need to stick to a routine of appropriate flossing as well as brushing plus visiting your dentist to have oral examination twice per year. It is the best way to maintain a bright and healthy smile.

If you have any contributing ideas to our article, feel free to drop your words at the comment box below. We will respond as soon as possible.

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