Whiten your teeth at home. Overview of folk remedies and professional methods

Why do teeth darken

The reason for this is not only plaque, with which conventional hygiene products can cope. Brushing your teeth twice a day, using a rinse aid and, if necessary, dental floss, is enough for proper care. But teeth are found daily not only with plaque, but also with numerous dyes present in our lifestyle and in food.

The most common enemy of tooth whiteness is coffee. It is followed by smoking, followed by strong black tea. Red wine, pomegranate juice, red sour berries have no less coloring means. All of them act on enamel, penetrating into its structure. Thus, pigmentation does not occur on the surface, but inside. And it becomes impossible to eliminate the grayish or yellowish tint with ordinary toothpaste.

How to prevent tooth pigmentation

A harbinger of the question of how to whiten teeth at home, and especially a dead tooth, which has already turned black for a long time, should be a list of actions to prevent their darkening. Their observance is often enough to not resort to other, more aggressive methods.

• After eating and drinking coffee (tea), rinse your mouth with water or a special rinse aid. Carry a small bottle with you in your purse for work.
• Drink as much water as possible. It will not allow pigmentation to occur on the surface of the teeth, it will wash off the bacteria.
• Eat hard fruits and vegetables - apples, cucumbers, carrots. They gently remove plaque from the surface of the teeth, preventing them from darkening.
• Avoid strong dyes - Mulberries, cherries, blueberries. Drink juices from red berries and fruits through a straw.
• Smoke as little as possible but rather, completely give up cigarettes.

What to do if teeth are already darkened

But what if the enamel has already acquired a yellowish tint or completely blackened teeth? How can teeth be whitened at home? It would be right for the dentist to ask this question before starting the fight for the whiteness of a smile. Why is it important? Because you should first make sure that your teeth are healthy, there is no caries, and the enamel is in a satisfactory condition. If any violations are present, the situation can quickly worsen. And then you already definitely need the help of a dentist.

It is also important to prepare your teeth for future procedures. This must be done to reduce the destructive effects on enamel. The implementation of simple recommendations on teeth whitening with home remedies with preliminary preparation will help to avoid uncomfortable sensations from increased sensitivity, the development of precursors of caries and the disease itself.

Preparation is carried out within 30 days. It includes the following items.

• The use of dairy products, protein foods. Such healthy food will saturate the body with calcium, which is necessary for the strength of teeth. You can also use vitamins or dietary supplements with calcium in an easily digestible form.
• The use of fluoride-containing toothpastes. Your task is to saturate the enamel with minerals that will strengthen its structure and not allow destruction. In pharmacies and stores you can buy high-quality and inexpensive toothpastes with fluoride, xylitol, and other minerals.
• Rinses with tea tree oil - within a month, add a few drops of the product in warm water and rinse your teeth before bedtime. Tea tree oil strengthens the enamel, eliminates gum irritation.

Folk remedies

The simplest and most affordable solution to how you can whiten your teeth at home is to use folk remedies. Most of them can be found in your home, while buying does not require significant costs.

Soda

It acts as an abrasive, removing plaque from enamel, but can damage the enamel itself, so use soda with caution. The easiest way is to dip a wet finger in white powder and go through their teeth. You can use a gauze swab, cotton swab. Do not put soda on the toothbrush, especially with hard bristles, as this can trigger the removal of the top layer of enamel.

The second way is to make a concentrated soda solution from a small amount of water and 2 teaspoons of the powder. Take a thick slurry with your finger or a cotton swab and brush your teeth.

Disadvantages of soda:

• abrasive effect. Therefore, it is recommended to apply up to 1 time per week;
• possible gum irritation. Powder should be avoided;
• specific taste. To reduce its intensity allows the addition of powder to the brush with toothpaste, after which normal cleaning is performed;
• ability to dry mucous membranes. After using soda, cracks may appear in the corners of the mouth, discomfort in the oral cavity, allergic reactions in the form of rashes around the lips.

Activated carbon

Another abrasive that does not adversely affect mucous membranes and gums. Cleaning is carried out by powder from tablets of activated carbon, previously crushed into small crumbs. A few drops of water should be added to the powder, and the resulting gruel should be brushed without using a toothbrush. In the same way as with soda, type it on your finger or a cotton swab and walk along the surface of the teeth.

The disadvantages of activated carbon:

• the appearance of scratches on the enamel. Minimizing the consequences allows grinding the tablets to a completely homogeneous mass, without large inclusions;
• black marks on the gums and between the teeth. Normal rinsing with water does not help to get rid of them, so you need to use a toothpick. Do not plan activated carbon whitening when in a hurry.

Hydrogen peroxide

Another solution for teeth whitening at home. Acts not as an abrasive, but as a result of a chemical oxidation reaction. It should be understood that such an effect is stronger than mechanical. And it’s unacceptable to use concentrated peroxide at home, otherwise you risk losing your teeth altogether. The optimal composition is a 3% solution, which can be used in several ways.

• Rinsing. Dilute peroxide with water at a rate of 1: 1, rinse your teeth.
• Cleaning with peroxide and soda. It works more efficiently, allowing you to whiten your teeth in 1 day for 1-2 tones. For this, hydrogen peroxide is added to the soda, mixed to a thick slurry and applied to the teeth. Such cleaning should be carried out extremely rarely, literally in situations where "it is very necessary."
• Neat cleaning. To do this, add a couple drops of peroxide to the toothpaste before brushing your teeth.

Disadvantages of hydrogen peroxide:

• acts aggressively on teeth therefore, the less you use it, the better.
• a combination of peroxide with acids can enhance the negative effects and lead to thinning and sensitivity of enamel. You will get guaranteed problems if you prepare for cleaning a composition of soda, hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice. Such a mixture can destroy the enamel to the base in just 2-3 applications. A slightly more gentle way is peroxide with strawberries.

Ineffective methods

There are several ways to whiten teeth at home with folk remedies that do not have any rationale.You can use them only to calm, and also to improve the condition of the gums, but no more.

• Honey and calcium gluconate. Honey is not able to exert any effect on the teeth, and calcium gluconate in this case acts like a normal abrasive without strengthening the enamel.
• Iodine. It is recommended to lubricate the teeth with iodine at night. This method is based only on the psychological impact. Indeed, in the evening the teeth were bright orange, and in the morning they acquired their usual shade. Therefore, brightened.
• Wood resin. If you rub your teeth with a piece of resin, you can really eliminate external plaque. But with the same success and much greater benefit can chew carrots or apples.

Professional Tools

In addition to folk remedies for teeth whitening, there are home methods with professional ready-made products. These include:

• mouthguards - combined with a gel that performs whitening;
• whitening strips - plastic strips applied to the teeth for the same purpose;
• pencils and gels - products with a similar composition in tubes of various shapes. Allow to apply the product on the teeth and rinse it off after a few minutes.

The difference between professional tools is greater ease of use and gentle effect on the teeth. True, the last quality depends on the composition. If only hydrogen peroxide is present in it, which is the main active component of most gels and whitening strips, then in 100% of cases, unpleasant sensations in the form of enamel sensitivity appear. If the composition is saturated with minerals, herbal extracts for gum health and elimination of bacteria, it will provide a more gentle effect and high-quality result in several applications.

All these methods allow you to find your own solution to how to whiten your teeth at home. You can find reviews about the tools and features of their use in other thematic articles on whitening our site.