Monday, May 3, 2010

Use Homemade Teeth Whiteners

Many people want whiter teeth these days, but more are looking to natural or homemade remedies as an alternative to other methods. In addition to whitening toothpastes, there are teeth whitening kits like Crest Whitestrips or professional teeth bleaching at a dentist's office. Some of these methods are expensive, but with natural items you may already have in your kitchen, you can whiten your teeth easily and for a lot less money.


Instructions


1. Use citrus fruits. Some people have success with rubbing strawberries over the teeth. Another option is to mash the strawberries in a bowl, add a little water, and then use the paste the way you would toothpaste. Rubbing the inside of an orange peel against the teeth is another way to whiten teeth. These fruits remove stains which make teeth look whiter.


2. Brush teeth with naturally acidic substances. With this method you brush your teeth with lemon juice, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. The acid breaks down the stains on the teeth.


3. Create homemade pastes. Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is a well known teeth whitener that is recommended by some dentists. The baking soda's texture offers an abrasive quality that can remove stains; hydrogen peroxide is a mild acid and natural bleaching agent like the peroxide in hair color. Another paste is salt (either table salt or rock salt) and lemon juice. The salt offers the abrasive quality and the lemon juice's acidic properties helps to whitens the teeth. A salt and water paste is also an easy to make teeth whitener.


4. Use herbs to whiten teeth. Rub walnut tree bark on your teeth. You can also grind dried bay leaves into a powder and then add dried orange peels. Add water to the mixture and use as a paste. Wood ash and water is another popular paste.


5. Use your imagination. All the items mentions above (lemon juice, salt, baking soda and vinegar) can be combined to form a paste. Try what appeals to you or what is readily available.


6. Make a mouth tray. This is a cheaper version of the trays you can buy. Tear off a section of aluminum foil that you can place around your teeth. Add a paste mixture to the aluminum foil and place it securely around your teeth. Leave on for one hour or for as long as it is comfortable. This method is effective because the whitening substance stays on your teeth longer.


7. Eat more fruits and vegetables. While this is a good idea to improve overall health, dentists suggest eating celery, cucumbers, broccoli and pineapple because these foods can help to remove stains from the teeth.

Tags: your teeth, lemon juice, remove stains, abrasive quality, aluminum foil