DIY Teeth Whitening Ideas You Should Never Try At Home
Posted on: 25 January 2016
From the stars that grace the red carpet and show off their pearly whites to the cameras to the everyday people you encounter on the street, it can seem like everybody in the world has a whiter smile than what you have in your own mouth. If you have not yet made the choice to seek professional teeth whitening at a cosmetic dentist, you may be tempted to try out some of the DIY teeth whitening ideas you find posted by other people online. While there are things you can do to safely whiten your smile at home, there are some ideas that should probably be banned from the internet. Here are a few teeth whitening ideas you should never try at home.
1. Scrubbing with Lemon Juice and Baking Soda - This simple teeth whitening solution sounds harmless enough--after all, it is only natural ingredients. You will probably find at least a dozen articles telling you how you can get a brighter smile by concocting a paste with just these two ingredients and brushing pretty aggressively to eliminate stains. The only problem with this is the fact that lemon juice is one of the worst things you could use to whiten your teeth because it is so acidic. This high-acid concentration can weaken the enamel on your teeth and lead to sensitivity and vulnerability to decay. As an alternative, you can use just baking soda to brush your teeth and see some whitening action, without the harmful side effects.
2. Rinsing with Hydrogen Peroxide - Hydrogen peroxide rinsing is another common DIY teeth whitening procedure you should be careful to avoid. While minimal rinsing probably would not hurt anything, using this technique often is not good at all. Some dental-cleansing products like toothpaste and mouthwash can contain hydrogen peroxide, but in FDA approved quantities and dilutions that will not cause damage to your teeth or gums. Over usage of hydrogen peroxide could actually leave you prone to gum infections.
3. Charcoal Teeth Whitening - Pull up dental whitening in your search results and you are bound to find at least one person with a gritty mouthful of charcoal trying to whiten their teeth. While trying to whiten your teeth with activated charcoal may show some minimal improvement over time, the key here is that it must be activated charcoal, and anything else would be considered dangerous if swallowed. If you find someone telling you to grind up charcoal briquettes or your drawing pencils, move on quickly. Besides, talking to your dentist about having your teeth whitened is a much better (and cleaner) idea.
For more information about professional whitening, contact a business such as Willowdaile Family Dentistry.
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