Natural Teeth Whitening: Who doesn’t like a bright smile and white teeth? I do but I don‘t like the chemicals that come with many of the teeth whitening products out there. So, I set out to find easy natural teeth whitening recipes to do at home.
I haven’t tried these so I can’t tell you how effective they are but I’ve seen much positive feedback about all of them.
Natural Teeth Whitening with Baking Soda + Hydrogen Peroxide
Ingredients:
- Baking soda
- 3% Hydrogen peroxide
- Water
- Peppermint essential oil (optional)
Put a tiny bit of your toothpaste (hopefully natural and fluoride free toothpaste) into a small cup. Mix in one teaspoon of baking soda, one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide, and half a teaspoon of water. Add a couple drops of peppermint essential oil if desired. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together then brush your teeth with the paste for one to two minutes. Rinse paste with water. Remember to do this once a week until you have reached the results you want. Then for maintenance, limit yourself to using the whitening treatment once every month or two.
Note: Baking Soda is an abrasive and if used too much, it can damage the enamel on your teeth – be gentle and don’t over do it!
Dr. Oz Natural Teeth Whitening Home Remedy
1/4 cup of baking soda + lemon juice from half of a lemon.
Apply with cotton ball or q-tip. Leave on for no longer than 1 minute, then brush teeth (gently) to remove.
Natural Teeth Whitening with a Banana Peel
Take a piece of the inside of the banana peel and gently rub around on your teeth for about 2 minutes. The brush your teeth. Some say to set the timer for 10 minutes. Try to keep your mouth open and your lips away from your teeth so the paste can fully stay on and work its magic. Repeat this process several times a week for a brighter smile!
Other Natural Teeth Whitening Options I Found
- Rub fresh strawberry on your teeth daily and watch. A strawberry may also be mashed and applied with a tooth brush.
- Pour a small amount of 100% apple cider vinegar in your mouth and swirl it around for one to two minutes. Apple cider vinegar helps remove stains, whiten teeth, and kill bacteria in your mouth and gums. Brush as usual after you gargle. Vinegar has a very intense taste so it’s a good idea to have the water to hand when using it.
- Add a little baking soda to your toothbrush and brush as usual – remember baking soda is abrasive – be gentle. Repeat once a week.
- Take a half a teaspoon of baking soda, and mix it together with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Put it into a bowl, and dip your toothbrush in it. Brush the surface of your teeth for two minutes. Do this once every two weeks – gently!
Some of these teeth whitening recipes like the strawberry and banana ones are a little weird for my taste (pun intended :-)) but could be worth a try. I am about to embark on my first natural teeth whitening experience with the first recipe. I’ll take a few before and after pictures to share with you and report back in a few weeks.
What natural teeth whitening tricks have you used? Whether or not they worked, I’d love to hear about them.
Sources:
- Bobbi’s Skinny Friends
- http://homemadeforelle.com/all-natural-teeth-whitener-yes/
- http://www.pinterest.com/pin/3940718395712498/
- http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-beauty/banana-peel-whiten-teeth-put-test-160200414.html
- http://www.myhomeremedies.com/static/teeth-whitening.html
- http://www.wikihow.com/Whiten-Teeth-With-Baking-Soda
- http://applecidervinegarhub.org/2013/01/30/teeth-whitening-does-apple-cider-vinegar-make-teeth-whiter/
Baking soda, really? Wouldn’t it trigger our gag reflex? It doesn’t taste that good.
Hi Caroline!
Thank you for this article. I’ve used baking soda on its own but never with hydrogen peroxide, it’ll be interesting to see how it works for you. Another teeth whitening trick I’ve tried is oil pulling. It’s an Ayurvedic method where you swish sesame oil or coconut oil in your mouth for 15 minutes every morning. It’s been said to have amazing health benefits. Personally the 15min in the morning proved to be a bit too long for me but I’m planning to give it another try sometime soon.
All the best,
Emma Jasmine
Hi Emma, thanks for much for your comment. I am familiar with oil pulling but wasn’t aware that it helped with teeth whitening. I know what you mean. 15 minutes of swooshing around feels like an eternity. 🙂 I’ll let you know what happens with my experiments.
Hi, I just tried baking soda for the first time. While the taste isn’t great, I din’t have a gag reflex. Maybe adding it to your toothpaste would do the trick.