People who seek to avoid using chemical tooth whiteners often advocate using a more natural method of lightening tooth color instead. Baking soda is probably the most commonly known suggestion for an effective at home teeth whitening method, but many people also advocate using certain fruits to serve the purpose. For example, some suggest using mashed strawberries to brush the teeth. Others swear by a mouthwash of lemon juice and salt, or even wiping citrus peels across the teeth. But do these natural fruit methods really do the job?
The most effective use of fruit for dental whitening appears, at first, to be provided by lemons, whether using the juice as a mouthwash or rubbing the peel directly on the teeth. Yet what the citric acid actually does is pull calcium out of the enamel. This makes the tooth appear whiter, for a while, because calcium is one of the things that adds a darker tinge to the color. But losing calcium eventually makes the enamel thinner, weakening the teeth. As an at home teeth whitening method, lemons look promising at first, but could produce devastating effects in the end.
Are strawberries any more effective as a natural teeth whitener? Probably not. Its seeds are abrasive and can scratch and harm the teeth, plus the acid can have much the same effect as lemons. In actual fact, the acid found in strawberries actually makes the enamel softer. That is why it's recommended that people should wait twenty minutes subsequent to eating them before brushing the teeth, to provide the saliva a chance to restock the minerals within the enamel. The use of strawberries themselves to clean your teeth, particularly as a regular habit, might be not the best means of achieving whiter teeth.
There's an irony involved in using at home teeth whitening methods that make tooth enamel thinner and weaker. For the most part, the yellowish color of teeth comes from the dentin inside, and the color shows through the enamel, which is translucent. So if that enamel gradually becomes thinner, this yellowish color will eventually become more prominent. A tooth whitener designed to remove yellow may ultimately make it more pronounced instead. It would seem that even though they sound healthier, using strawberries or lemons don't serve the purpose of whitening teeth very well.
Actually, with the majority of your teeth's coloring dependent on the dentin, it may not actually be possible to make teeth much whiter than they naturally are. The more crucial mission is to keep maintain the health of your teeth, and a nonstop treatment of either strawberries or lemons is unlikely to accomplish that objective.
The popularity of teeth whitening products and procedures has grown enormously in the last little while. Lots of people are becoming aware that a white smile is a great way to look more attractive, not to mention younger. Find out what the choices are in cheap teeth bleaching alternatives at the Teeth Bleaching site.
