Many individuals dream of a flawless smile. A smile like that is linked to a healthy diet and proper oral hygiene practices. A fundamental part of having a beautiful smile is maintaining pearly teeth. Many people have questions about how to maintain white teeth. Several techniques and products can help you maintain sparkling white teeth. Below are some safe, natural remedies for achieving sparkling white teeth.
Exercise Coconut Oil Pulling With Baking Soda
Oil pulling entails swishing like you do with mouthwash. The technique originates from India and has been traditionally used to whiten teeth and eradicate microbes and body toxins. Microbes are the bacteria that accumulate in the mouth, causing plaque, which primarily causes teeth to turn yellow. Therefore, when you exercise oil pulling often, you prevent plaque accumulation, enabling you to retain sparkling teeth.
Many individuals prefer coconut oil to maintain proper oral hygiene and remove microbes from the mouth. The oil is beneficial as it has a good smell and helps eradicate bad breath by removing toxins from the mouth. Additionally, the oil is excellent for teeth-whitening and cleaning. Coconut oil also has lauric acid components. The lauric acid elements are essential in fighting germs, making the oil critical to maintaining healthy white teeth.
Oil pulling entails using coconut oil as an antiseptic that helps enhance dental health by extracting hazardous bacteria, deterring plaque accumulation, which is the primary cause of tooth yellowing, and preventing decay and bad mouth odor.
So, when you are starting the journey to keep pearly white and healthy teeth, you should begin by swishing your teeth with oil to eradicate toxic bacteria and plaque and deter the growth of gum disease or periodontitis. However, how does oil swishing work? First, pour a tablespoon of coconut oil into the mouth, then swish. You should know that the oil is solid at room temperature, so you must give it a few seconds to melt. After that, you should swish for fifteen to twenty minutes before spitting. Avoid spitting the oil on the sink, as it will harden quickly, blocking drainage. Therefore, you are encouraged to spit in a trash can.
Coconut oil does not contain chemicals or harmful acids that can eat away at your enamel. Therefore, you can swish or pull it daily for a while without harming your teeth. The oil only kills hazardous bacteria and eradicates plaque, giving you the white teeth and perfect smile you have always dreamed of. After pulling, you should brush with soda.
The right way to brush with baking soda is to pour the powder on the toothpaste that is already on your brush. The powder acts as a mild cleanser and removes stains in the mouth that cannot be eradicated by pulling. You will have bright teeth once you brush with a combination of your preferred toothpaste and soda. The soda is also alkaline, creating a conducive environment that deters the breeding of hazardous bacteria. Nevertheless, combining pulling and brushing with soda does not lead to overnight whitening. The whitening is gradual, and you will begin to see results after extended oil pulling.
Use Activated Charcoal
Cosmetic dental experts recommend activated charcoal for quick and cost-effective teeth whitening. The charcoal removes mouth toxins and absorbs tartar and plaque, removing stains from the teeth and preventing them from turning yellow. Activated charcoal is an ideal natural teeth-whitening remedy because it has no flavor or smell. When you use the product, your teeth look brighter, and it removes bad breath, giving you the confidence to speak and smile in public.
If you believe activated charcoal is the way to sparkly white teeth, begin by crushing the charcoal into powder. After powdering it, put your brush in water to wet the bristles. After, dip the brush in the crushed charcoal so that the charcoal sticks to the bristles and use it to brush the teeth. After brushing, give the teeth around four minutes before rinsing to allow the activated or crushed charcoal to absorb tartar. You can then rinse the mouth later on. If you repeat this for a few days, you will have sparkling teeth.
Stick to a Healthy Diet that Strengthens and Whitens your Teeth
Your dietary choices affect the health and brightness of your teeth. One of the foods that you can eat for healthy and brighter teeth is strawberries. These fruits contain malic acid, a bleaching ingredient that helps eradicate stains and tooth discoloration. Again, these fruits stimulate the salivary glands, elevating saliva production, which is critical in protecting the gums from germs and preventing plaque buildup by washing away food debris. You can take raw strawberries, but it is best to extract more malic acid when they are smashed. Add baking soda to the strawberries so that, as the malic acid removes the discoloration, the soda can eradicate the stains.
Similarly, incorporate nuts and seeds into your diet because they have nutritional value that could help your overall dental health. Seeds like chia contain calcium as a main ingredient that helps remove stains from the tooth’s surface. Cashew nuts and sunflower seeds are also excellent at removing tooth discoloration and stains.
Lastly, you should consider incorporating carrots, vegetables, and apples into your diet because they stimulate salivary glands, increasing saliva production that washes away toxic bacteria from the mouth and keeps the teeth and gums healthy. Again, the crunchy nature of these fruits and vegetables enables them to scrub the stains from the tooth surface, giving you brighter teeth.
You should know that drinking adequate water is part of a healthy diet. Water is good for your teeth because it washes away food waste and clears the staining elements of drinks like coffee, deterring tooth staining.
Mix Powdered Milk and Toothpaste
Milk powder helps maintain white teeth, while its calcium component strips off stains from the enamel and keeps it healthy and strong. Milk eradicates tooth discoloration and blemishes on the surface, helping you achieve brighter teeth at a pocket-friendly price.
If you are interested in this remedy, sprinkle the powdered milk on the toothpaste, brush your teeth for no more than two minutes, and repeat this two times daily. If you do this for multiple days, you will have brighter teeth.
Stop Smoking
A common habit among people that could adversely impact your daily efforts to achieve and maintain pearly teeth is tobacco smoking. Tobacco contains nicotine, which produces tar that is responsible for yellowing your teeth. The tar seeps into the grooves of your tooth enamel, leaving behind stubborn stains that discolor your teeth and leave you with a flawed smile. When these stains remain unattended for a long time, they become even more challenging to remove, requiring a deep dental cleaning.
The more years of smoking you have, the duller your smile will look and the harder it will be to eradicate the stains. Therefore, if you wish to regain your original smile and healthy teeth, you must avoid smoking.
Apart from giving you a dull smile, smoking results in foul breath and weakens your immune system, increasing the risk of gum disease, gingivitis, and periodontal disease. The risk of developing oral cancer is also elevated with smoking, not to mention heart and lung complications.
Steer Clear of Medications that Stain your Teeth
In pursuing pearly teeth and a flawless smile, you should not overlook the effects of some medications you use to manage particular health conditions.
One common medication that causes gray discoloration in children is tetracycline, an antibiotic commonly prescribed to children when their teeth are popping. Other drugs that cause tooth staining are:
- Antihistamines
- Iron supplements
- Excessive fluoride intake
- Antipsychotic medication
- Blood pressure drugs
Removing stains caused by medication is challenging, unlike stains stemming from food and beverages. Medications affect the tooth’s internal structure; removing the stains can be extremely challenging. You must choose between the benefits of the medications and the effects on the brightness of your teeth to decide whether to quit treatment to save your smile.
Speak to your dentist for treatment solutions that can help you maintain white teeth while continuing treatment. Dental bonding is the best treatment for whitening teeth when on medication that causes discoloration. Your dentist applies an adhesive material to the discolored tooth, concealing the discoloration and giving you a beautiful smile.
Limit Your Intake of Teeth-Staining Foods
To attain and maintain bright teeth, you should consider your dietary choices. Your choice of foods and beverages directly impacts the brightness of your teeth. They can make it brighter or duller. Therefore, as you strive to maintain sparkling teeth, knowing that foods will likely stain your teeth is critical.
Any food or drink that can stain a white cotton t-shirt will stain your teeth. With this rule of thumb in mind, you can try various foods and beverages to see which stain the t-shirt should avoid, as they will do the same for your teeth.
Red wine, coffee, and soda will discolor your teeth. Abstaining from these substances is not easy. However, using a straw, you can minimize the contact between the teeth and the substance. Alternatively, you should rinse your mouth with water whenever you consume a substance likely to increase staining risks.
Utilize Turmeric Whitening Toothpaste
Another way to naturally achieve sparkling white teeth is by using turmeric toothpaste, usually consisting of coconut oil, powdered turmeric, and droplets of peppermint. Combining these ingredients is highly effective in eradicating plaque and promoting white teeth. Besides, the combination is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Therefore, using the product gives you white teeth and helps keep them healthy by fighting off harmful bacteria. However, you should know that the treatment results are not instant. You must consistently use the toothpaste, and the results will eventually come.
Try Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a natural bleaching agent used to achieve and retain white teeth. The natural remedy does not only help you retain white teeth; it also kills the toxic bacteria in the mouth, reducing the risk of oral infection. The product's capacity to kill germs explains why it has been conventionally used to treat wounds.
If you want hydrogen peroxide, purchase toothpaste with a high product concentration. When you brush twice daily with the toothpaste, you will likely achieve your dream teeth or smile within a month.
Pay Attention to Your Gums
Your overall smile depends on the quality of your gums. If you have unhealthy soft tissue, you are at risk of developing gum disease, gingivitis, or periodontitis, which adversely impacts the aesthetics of your smile. You can care for your gingiva tissue by brushing and flossing with the right toothbrush. Brush your teeth gently for two minutes twice daily, and you will keep your gums healthy.
Observe Good Oral Hygiene Practices
Staining is the main cause of tooth discoloration. Therefore, with adequate oral hygiene, you can prevent stains and discoloration, helping you maintain white teeth.
Natural remedies and lifestyle changes are crucial to keeping white teeth and a flawless smile. However, you should not underestimate or overlook the importance of having a daily care routine. Brushing your teeth daily should not be just a habit; it is the backbone of oral health. Proper brushing can eradicate stains, deter plaque and tartar accumulation, and keep white teeth.
Dental experts recommend using fluoride toothpaste. When brushing, hold the brush at a 45-degree angle and move it in circular motions.
Do not brush your teeth immediately after consuming staining substances. Doing so could erode the enamel. Wait half an hour before brushing to give the enamel time to re-harden.
Also, you should try flossing because it helps remove debris and bacteria from the tooth surfaces the brush cannot reach. Daily commitment and consistency to brushing and flossing are critical to having white teeth. Therefore, you will keep sparkling white teeth by investing in the routine.
Find a Skilled Cosmetic Dental Expert Near Me
Several natural remedies and products exist that can help you retain white teeth. Nevertheless, a balanced diet and proper dental hygiene are the cornerstones of healthy and brighter teeth. Also, if you want to whiten your teeth, you should speak to an Encino dentist first because some bleaching agents can be harmful. At the Lasting Impressions Dental Spa, we can assist you in maintaining a pearly white smile. Call us today at 818-751-5100 for a free dental evaluation.
