A lot of people want to “fix” their smiles, and the most commonly desired change is the shade of their teeth. We all want a bright, white smile that makes us feel confident and ready to face the world! If you’ve spent any time online looking for the best way to whiten your teeth you’ve probably stumbled into a lot of DIY teeth whitening “hacks.” Should you actually trust DIY dental tricks to create real lasting results?
Our Shorewood dental team wants each of our patients to be safe and responsible about their oral health, which is why we want to take the time to explain what’s behind some of these common teeth whitening myths. Even something as simple as whitening your teeth could cause easily avoided harm.
Can Fruit Peels Peel Away Stains?
One of the more popular teeth whitening tricks we’ve seen around the internet is using the peels from either citrus fruit or a banana to whiten your teeth. The idea is to rub the inner part of the peel on your teeth for a few minutes, and stains are supposed to simply lift away!
Let’s tackle the banana part of this myth first. Proponents of banana peel whitening argue that the gritty surface, magnesium, and potassium all combine to scrub stains away. Here’s the real trick: magnesium and potassium can make your teeth appear whiter because they give a sort of temporary polish to them. In reality it will only last for a few hours at the longest, and then you’re back to square one.
Citrus fruit is another story entirely. The idea is that acids in the citrus peel are good for eliminating stains. While that may somewhat be the case it’s not actually helping as much as it’s damaging your enamel! Your teeth decay because plaque acids erode the enamel, and adding extra acid to the mix just makes matters worse. Don’t fall for this trick – you’ll end up with something you didn’t bargain for!
Pulling Out The Stains – With Oil?
There’s an old – and we mean very, very old – idea that swishing oil in your mouth for ten to twenty minutes can remove not only plaque, but stains as well. The science behind this method comes from ancient India’s Ayurvedic medicine tradition, and while it would great if something like this worked all it’s going to get you are sore cheek muscles.
While swishing with oil for ten minutes can definitely get rid of excess plaque, it isn’t going to do much in the way of whitening your teeth. Stains have to be penetrated by cleaning agents that break them down and force them out, and there’s no support for the idea that oil can do that.
As for the cleansing aspect of oil pulling, there’s a common method that gets you far better results: brushing and flossing. Yes, oil can pull away excess bacteria and make your teeth feel clean, but it’s not able to scrub your smile like a brush can. Toothpaste is also formulated to pull away plaque and latch on to it, something that oil can’t do. Our advice: skip the oil and just brush like normal.
Baking Soda And Peroxide: A New Toothpaste?
We’ve all heard of the DIY tooth whitening trick that baking soda can be used to clean your teeth in a pinch, and if you’ve researched teeth whitening you know that peroxide is a good whitener. If you combine them you must have a good whitening method on hand, right?
Not so much. The two percent peroxide solution in the bottle under your sink isn’t nearly potent enough to produce any real whitening results. Not only that, but peroxide has to be isolated in a tray to do its job – saliva actually destroys it!
The only thing you’ll gain by brushing your teeth with this combo is an increase in cavity rates because you aren’t getting enough fluoride.
Real Whitening: Get It Here
Before you take to the internet to chase down another alternative method, pause and think. Should you really try everything under the sun, or should you go with a proven and safe method that works? Our professional teeth whitening solutions can really deliver results!
We offer both whitening in our office and take-home kits that have pleased countless Shorewood Family Dental Care patients. You could have a noticeably whiter smile in just a single visit – how can a DIY teeth whitening hack compare to that?
If you’re ready to talk teeth whitening – and we mean real teeth whitening – give us a call today. You can reach our office at 815-725-5991 or you can request an appointment online. We look forward to seeing you soon!
