Is it harmful to brush your teeth with soda: 3 for and 4 against whitening methods

Baking soda is a good disinfectant that can cope with diseases of the oral cavity. Its safety for the body allows the use of soda solutions even for the treatment of children (they treat the affected areas of the mucosa with stomatitis, thrush). Therefore, theoretically, the harm of this method is absent. But in practice, not everything is so simple.

Advantages and disadvantages. Benefit and harm

In addition to safety, the advantages of the method include:

• the presence of soda in every home and free sale;
• availability - the cost of soda is minimal, so the home whitening procedure costs a penny. Unlike professional cleaning in dentistry, in which, by the way, soda is also used (sandblasting machines like Air remove plaque with a stream of air, water and soda);
• visible result - it is reached after the first cleaning.

The disadvantages of the method are also there. And this should be considered if you are considering whether it is harmful to brush your teeth with soda:

• Sodium bicarbonate works as an abrasive, that is, removes plaque mechanically. This has an unconditional effect on the enamel: mechanical cleaning causes scratches on its surface and further thinning;
• the durability of the result is short-lived: under the influence of external factors, the enamel begins to darken again after a few days;
• soda can cause damage to the gums, bleeding. In addition, allergic reactions of the mucous membrane in the oral cavity and in the form of rashes around the lips are frequent;
• increased sensitivity of teeth gradually develops, entails damage to the enamel. And if you do not know how to brush your teeth with soda, the consequences can become devastating and irreversible.

How to minimize disastrous consequences

How does soda affect teeth? Is soda harmful? There are recommendations on how to brush your teeth with soda to whiten and not harm your health.

• Perform teeth whitening with soda no more than 1 time in 7-10 days. If you can refrain from it, do it. For example, if the procedure is scheduled for Sunday, and an important meeting is expected on Wednesday, extend the enamel's rest period by a couple of days. Is it possible to brush my teeth with baking soda every day? Doctors categorically forbid doing this.

• When cleaning, refrain from using a toothbrush. Use only with your fingertips, cotton swab or stick. Additional abrasive action stimulates the early damage to the surface layer of teeth.
• Between brushings, use toothpastes with a high content of minerals. Fluorine-containing pastes, which make up for the loss of enamel, show good results. If the sensitivity of the teeth began to bother, refrain from further whitening and switch to pastes to strengthen the enamel.

4 tooth brushing techniques

So, how to brush your teeth with soda to achieve the desired result? Whitening is carried out in several ways. What happens if you brush your teeth with soda at home? Does tooth enamel harm soda?

1. Dry powder. The easiest way to brush your teeth with soda. Reviews confirm its effectiveness: the smile brightens after the first procedure. Apply the powder to a damp cotton pad or fingertips and walk over the entire surface of the teeth.The negative factor of this method is its maximum abrasive effect, as well as the likely irritation of the gums, which you cause microdamage during cleaning.
2. Concentrated solution. Dissolve sodium bicarbonate in a small amount of water until the powder is no longer dissolved. Apply it on gauze or a cotton pad. The cleaning technique is the same as the dry method, only the action is more gentle.
3. Homemade pasta. In any paste, add a little powder immediately before cleaning. Ideally, if it is a fluoride paste. Brush your teeth with a toothbrush as usual.
4. Combined composition. Brushing teeth with soda with hydrogen peroxide should be even more accurate. A small amount of a 3% peroxide solution must be mixed with soda until a thick mass is obtained. Apply it to your teeth with your fingers or a cotton swab, massage for 2 minutes and rinse with water. Avoid getting the compound on the gums. Also in combination with soda, lemon juice can be used. For this, a concentrated soda solution is prepared, into which several drops of juice are added. The bleaching effect of the product is very high, but also the negative effect on enamel. It should be used extremely carefully and much less frequently than once a week.

Now you know how often you can brush your teeth with soda, and how to do it right. It should be remembered that, despite the harmlessness of the technique, it can cause significant damage to the health of your teeth. At present, dentistry is not able to restore enamel. Therefore, in pursuit of the whiteness of a smile, do not forget about recommendations to minimize the effects of such whitening.