Does anyone know of any really good teeth whitening methods that are more natural, i guess you could say. My teeth are wayy to sensitive for regular teeth whitening products, well, most of them anyway. I recently used Crest Whitestrips and what was susposed to take 10 days took me a month because my teeth couldn't handle it. There ended up hardly being any difference..
You can make a paste of hydrogen peroxide 3% and baking soda and brush every couple days with that. It definately makes a difference. Brush gently because at first your gums will be sensitive to it but using this is benificial to your gums...it is recommended for use if you have gingivitis too! I find it easier to wet my toothbrush with hp and then dip it into baking soda. After you've used this for a couple weeks, your gums will not be sensitive anymore and will be much healthier.
i have been brushing with baking soda after using regular toothpaste every day, in 2 week i see a big difference, so it really does work! also it is much cheaper than any of the whitening products!
I agree with keepsgoin. I do the exact same thing she does... wet the brush with hydrogen peroxide and than put baking soda on top of that and brush.
This is a great way to whiten teeth, but try to not do it everyday. It tends to be a bit harsh on the inside of the mouth and cheeks. Doing this every couple of days works just fine.
Well, I just tried the peroxide and baking soda, and I can deffinatly see why it wouldn't be a good idea to do it every day (for the sake of my gums)!
I also replaced my toothbrush and am going to try use mouthwash every day again. It might not be to difficult as i used it tonight to get the baking soda taste out of my mouth! haha
Forgive me for being the opposing one, but I had to add my two cents. A few years ago, I utilized this exact same method of peroxide and baking soda. I did it every day for two weeks and saw no improvement; I stopped after two weeks because I figured I would have seen some kind of result, even if it were very subtle. if it works for others, then that's spectacular, and I'm not at all suggesting you shouldn't give it a try. I'm just pointing out that it is not guaranteed to work...unless my teeth are really just that disgusting.
Um, i havent tried it, but isnt baking soda abraisive? It sort of burns away the layer of enamel, and thas why peoples teeth get whiter... be really careful if youre going to do this regularly!!!!!
Hmmm... there's a thought! I'll just do it every few days. I deffintatly wouldn't want to soften my teeth into getting cavities! That would be even worse, then not having them nice and white.
After you've been using this for a while...maybe a couple weeks, your gums will NOT be that sensitive. The peroxide is actually healing your gums right now. There's plenty of reading on the internet about using this and is also recommended highly for gum disease treatment.
If you have veneers or "fake" teeth at all...like your front tooth may have a white filling or be built up from being broken...baking soda and peroxide won't lighten that any lighter than the original filling or veneer color.
As far as the baking soda being harsh...heck about half the tooth pastes on the market have baking soda in them.
Don't put lemon juice on them!! I read a horrible story about a girl who used to do this. She said it made her teeth feel so clean and fresh and shiny and whitened them, but she got so obsessed with it and did it ALL the time. Her teeth became so thin and fragile because she wore away so much of the enamel doing this. Yikes!
Last edited by moderator2; 12-21-2006 at 12:04 PM.
Yes, baking soda IS mildly abrasive. I would be careful.
If your teeth are sensitive, I would suggest seeing a dentist for a one-time bleaching. If you're going to do other stuff like peroxide and baking soda, I would also ask your dentist, and get his/her approval and advice...
Well, my teeth only seem to be sensitive when I use whitening products. Like the chemicals somehow effect the nerve endings. Then it messes up all of my nerve system, for about a day. Like I get the "heebie jeebies" when I touch certian things. This only happens if I keep the whitener on too long, or in the case of the crest white strips, follow the instructions. It's NOT a very fun experience! I'm going to try the baking soda for a little while. Isn't there even Arm and Hammor toothpaste or something like that? I wonder if that would work....?
rub a section of fresh lemon over your teeth every day then brush as its a bleachin agent its safe and you get a few vitamins while you at it. if you can stand the taste.
Whitening = weakening teeth. The more you whiten, the more porous teeth can become and then they absord coffee, tea, blueberry jam, etc all the more and there you are again having to whiten them.
I would say put up with them being a little dingy for the sake of your tooth enamel.
rub a section of fresh lemon over your teeth every day then brush as its a bleachin agent its safe and you get a few vitamins while you at it. if you can stand the taste.
I don't know if you saw my post, but if you do this WAY too often it will wear your teeth down. I'm not sure how often is safe to do this.. do you happen to know? I just read a story about how a girl got obsessed with this and would do it too much and her teeth got so thin and started chipping away!
If you just clean your teeth regularly. brush, floss and use mouthwash then you should be fine if you stay away from such foods as coffee, teas, cigarettes, chocolate and basically anything that is dark and can stain.
Whitening bleaches the external layer of your enamel and to a degree exfoliates it. But remember that stains are a build-up on the enamel so a slight degree of exfoliation shouldn't harm them.
You can buy teeth whitening kits and trim the trays so they won't reach to your gums.
If you just clean your teeth regularly. brush, floss and use mouthwash then you should be fine if you stay away from such foods as coffee, teas, cigarettes, chocolate and basically anything that is dark and can stain.
Whitening bleaches the external layer of your enamel and to a degree exfoliates it. But remember that stains are a build-up on the enamel so a slight degree of exfoliation shouldn't harm them.
You can buy teeth whitening kits and trim the trays so they won't reach to your gums.
I got a Rembrant 2 hour whitening kit for x-mas, and was hesitant to use it because it was susposed to be a lot of whitening in only a couple hours, putting me in a lot of pain! However, I decided to try it anyway. The process went great! No pain during the whitening at all!... no very dramatic results either... However, an hour or 2 later I had something to eat, and that's when the pain began. tylonol did nothing for it. I lived through the night and it wasn't quite as bad the next day (still a little sensitive today, but only if i think about it.)
BTW, it's not my gums I have a problem with from the whitening, it's the nerves in my teeth. (I assume) I am going to continue to do the peroxide and baking soda a couple times a week. Even if it doesn't whiten it will be good for my gums especially since I was having problems with them a few months ago.
