Natural Teeth Whitening Home Remedy: Facts

Story:

Natural Teeth Whitener

Dip a cotton ball into the lemon juice and baking soda solution and apply it to your teeth. Let the lemon and baking soda solution sit on your teeth for around a minute. Brush your teeth to remove the acid. Do this once a week until desired results are achieved. They are super-effective.

Analysis:

This natural Teeth Whitening home remedy using lemon juice and baking soda solution has been doing rounds on internet for a while now. While many claim it does work, there are also warnings that the constituent acids can be abrasive and cause damage to teeth. The teeth whitening tip does work under some conditions – when used as suggested.

The message seems to have originated from natural teeth whitening solutions suggested by Dr. Oz:

Dr. Oz’s Teeth Whitening Home Remedy

Ingredients

Baking Soda
Lemon

Directions

In a small bowl, mix a little bit of baking soda with the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon. The mixture should bubble slightly.

Using a cotton swab, wipe saliva and excess plaque from your teeth before brushing on the mixture. Leave the mixture on your teeth for a minute before gently brushing it off with a toothbrush.

Don’t leave the mixture on your teeth for any longer than a minute; the acid erode tooth enamel.

The baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate helps in removing surface stains from your tooth enamel, and the citric acid in the lemon juice provides the bleaching effect to whiten your teeth. But this method should be carefully used as suggested, for not more than one minute at a time, and no more than once in a week. This is because the teeth whitening method can be abrasive and damage your tooth’s enamel. The acid of the lemon juice can leech calcium from your teeth, and the baking soda can erode tooth enamel and cause permanent damage. Also note that the extent of teeth whitening can vary from person to person, depending on his age and health condition, so it’s a good idea to consult your dentist before trying this easy home remedy. You can also whiten your teeth naturally using a Banana peel.

To prevent teeth stains in the first place, it is advised to drink water immediately after eating or drinking dark-colored foods and beverages and rinse (swish) the stain-causing particles off your teeth.

Tip: As suggested by Dr. Oz, you can also add natural whiteners to your diet for brighter, healthier teeth. Strawberries act like natural bleaching agent, Apples like natural toothbrush as you chew them, and Raisins act like natural mouthwash by inducing saliva production.