How to Get Your Teeth Whitened at Home
Teeth whitening doesn't always require a costly trip to your local dentist. If your teeth are in a state of good overall health but could use some brightening, more practical and less expensive alternatives for teeth whitening can be just a few household chemical agents, food condiments and fruit peels away.
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Things You'll Need
- Baking soda
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Water
- Toothbrush
- Lemon peel
- Table salt
- Lemon juice
- Dried orange peel
- Dried bay leaves
- Strawberries
- Apple cider vinegar
- Rock salt
- Hard wood ash
- Bark of walnut tree
Instructions
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Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide Whitening
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Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide are common household products that can be used for teeth whitening. Add a small amount of the hydrogen peroxide solution to the baking soda powder to create a paste-like consistency.
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Paste this substance onto your toothbrush and brush gently across all sides of your teeth for the amount and number of times you normally brush every day.
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Alternatively, you can replace the hydrogen peroxide with water to create the paste or use the baking soda alone by applying it directly onto a slightly damp toothbrush and brushing your teeth as you would normally every day.
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For whitening with hydrogen peroxide, gargle a small amount of the solution in your mouth for about a minute after brushing your teeth. Rinse your mouth thoroughly with water afterward.
Teeth Whitening With Food
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Rub your teeth with the white inside of a lemon peel. For added whitening effects, add a dash of table salt to the peel before rubbing it on your teeth.
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Alternatively, mix a small amount of table salt with lemon juice to create a paste-like consistency. Apply a thin layer of this substance onto your toothbrush and brush your teeth as you would normally every day.
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For orange peel whitening, grind dried bay leaves and dried orange peels together. Brush your teeth with the resulting powder and very little water.
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Rub your teeth daily with strawberries or brush them with apple cider vinegar. Both of these are safe and effective means of teeth whitening.
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Mix 1 cup water with 1/2 tsp. rock salt. Gargle every night with this solution for preventative and curing effects on your dental health.
Other Home Teeth Whitening Solutions
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Apply wood ash directly on your teeth with your toothbrush or mix it with some of your toothpaste. The tiny bits of wood ash that rub onto your teeth contain potassium hydroxide, which is a bleaching compound.
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Rub walnut tree bark directly on your teeth to remove all kinds of stains and yellowish layers.
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A dab of your regular toothpaste mixed with small dashes of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and table salt can also be used to brush away stains.
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Tips & Warnings
Stick to teeth whitening trays and strips with the highest hydrogen peroxide content when choosing among the many at-home teeth whitening kits available in various stores.
Be careful not to drink any of the hydrogen peroxide while brushing your teeth or gargling with it. If swallowed by accident, immediately drink 2 to 3 cups of water to dilute the acidity of the solution.
Be sure to check with your dentist that your mouth is in good health before trying any of these home remedies.
Any swollen gums or bleeding in the mouth is a sign of excessive use of salt and the home teeth whitening process should immediately cease.
Those with teeth sensitive to cold, with crowns or fillings on their front teeth, or whose enamel looks more gray than yellow should not whiten their teeth at home and should consult a dentist.
References
Resources
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