How To: Get Healthy White Teeth

by Dianna Esguerra

Editor’s note: Dianna is not a dentist and her advice should not be taken as that of a professional. For real health and teeth concerns, please see your doctor and/or dentist.

Are you insecure about your yellow smile? Have you ever wanted healthy white teeth? If so, then this article is for you. I will be showing you what causes yellow teeth, how to get a whiter smile with homemade ingredients, and tips and tricks to get your dream smile.

The Causes of Yellow Teeth:

Yellow teeth is very common in all age groups. There are many factors that play into yellow teeth: genetics, what you eat/drink, and your dental hygiene. There are 4 different tissues in a tooth, the enamel, dentin, pulp, and cementum. The enamel and dentin are the parts of the tooth that plays the biggest role in color. As you age the enamel (white part of your tooth) weakens and breaks down, since the yellow dentin is behind the enamel the dentin becomes more visible.

The 3 Homemade Ways to Whiten Your Teeth:

1. The first way to get that pearly white smile is to brush your teeth with baking soda and lemon juice. First mix several teaspoons of baking soda and lemon juice until you get a paste, then wipe your teeth with a paper towel to remove extra saliva. After, put the mixture on your toothbrush and apply it on for one minute. Finally, rinse with water to avoid damaging your enamel. Keep in mind not to do this mixture everyday or for longer than one minute because it will damage your tooth enamel, instead every two or so days. Replace the lemon juice with water to avoid damaging the enamel. On the days you do use water instead of the lemon juice you can leave it on up to three minutes instead of one.
2. The second way is a strawberry, salt, and baking soda mix. First mash up one to three large strawberry up in a container. Then, add a pinch of sea salt and ½ teaspoon of baking soda. After, wipe of the extra saliva with a paper towel. Finally, add the mixture on your toothbrush and apply to your teeth nightly for five minutes. Remember to brush your teeth and floss after removing the mixture to avoid the strawberry seeds from getting stuck in your teeth.
3. The third method is a coconut oil rinse. In the morning scoop out a tablespoon of coconut oil. Then, swish it in your mouth around your teeth for 10-15 minutes. Finally spit it out, rinse your mouth with water, and brush your teeth like normal.

                           Visuals of the different ways you can implement to whiten teeth. (taken by Esguerra)

Tips and Tricks:

-To check if your breath smells bad lick your wrist and wait for a few seconds, if it smells bad it’s time to eat a mint.
-Biting your nails or objects like pens can damage your tooth enamel.
-Chew only sugar-free gum
-Eat healthy crunchy foods, examples are apples or carrots. By eating these types of foods it acts as a natural toothbrush by removing food caught between your teeth and rubbing away bacteria off your teeth.
-An alternative to gum or mints is mint leaves and parsley to freshen your mouth.
-Buy a tongue scraper to get rid of the stinky bacteria on your tongue that causes bad breath.
-Avoid drinking caffeinated things such as coffee.
-If you absolutely want to drink something sugary, use a straw to avoid contact with teeth.
-Never forget to floss to avoid cavities and plaque build-up.
-Use alcohol-free mouthwash at least once a day.
-Use a banana peel/orange peel by rubbing the peel against your teeth gently, after that brush your teeth normally to remove leftover fruit pieces (this make take a few weeks to see results).
-Brush your teeth with activated charcoal powder by dipping your brush in water and in the powder. Afterwards, rinse and brush your teeth like normal.
-Rub apple cider vinegar on your teeth (keep in mind not to do this too often because it will break down your enamel).