We all want a gorgeous smile. That can be achieved by making those beautiful pearly whites shine! But it can be super expensive to get your teeth whitened professionally. Whitening products that you buy in stores are also rather pricey.
Instead you might want to look for a natural way to whiten your teeth using ingredients that you can find around your home. So we've gathered a list of some of the best tried and tested natural remedies for teeth whitening from around the web.
In some cases you'll have a whiter smile straight away, in others it might take a bit longer for the effects of the home made teeth whitening remedies to set in. Either way, if you're looking to whiten your teeth naturally it's worth giving a couple of these methods a try because you never know! Orange peels could turn out to be a great cheap alternative to expensive whitening products and techniques.
15 Cleaning Your Teeth Properly
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I hate to be patronizing here but making sure you clean your teeth properly is the first step towards getting a whiter, brighter smile. This means not only brushing your teeth twice a day with a clean toothbrush and a good fluoride toothpaste, but after mealtimes too. Additionally, you may want to get your teeth professionally cleaned every few months instead of simply waiting for your check up at the dentist. Mouthwashes and flossing regularly can help to prevent gum disease and plaque. Basically, you need a strong dental routine to begin with if you want whiter teeth.
14 Extra Dental Tools
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Supplementing brushing with extra tools will help to get your teeth completely clean. Firstly you could try interdental cleaners which look like mini pipe cleaners and slide into the gaps in your teeth to clean out those hard to reach areas. You could also try an oral irrigator which pumps a stream of water over your teeth in order to get rid of all the debris. Then there are interdental tips which are used to clean along the lines of your gums and in between teeth (if you don't have gaps) to get rid of plaque and debris.
13 Your Diet
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I'm not going to tell you about what to avoid because that's obvious. There are also foods that you can eat to help maintain a healthy, white smile. Nuts, such as almonds, have an abrasive surface which can help rub off plaque. Crunchy fruits that contain a lot water such as apples and pears aid saliva production which will wash away food debris. Foods that contain calcium not only strengthen teeth but can help whiten teeth too. We're talking dairy foods here though, not stuff like spinach which could lead to staining.
12 Baking Soda and Lemon Juice
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What you're going to want to do here is take several teaspoons of baking powder and pour in enough lemon juice to make it into a natural paste. Many whitening toothpastes contain baking soda because it helps to scrub the teeth clean, acting as a mild abrasive. Lemon juice also acts as a natural bleach of sorts. Apply the paste to your teeth with a toothbrush and leave it for one minute, then rinse away. Don't leave it too long as the acid from the lemon juice might affect the enamel on your teeth. If you mix water with baking soda instead you can leave it on for a few minutes.
11 Coconut Oil
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You may have heard of oil pulling already, it's a pretty popular teeth whitening method used by celebrities. You won't see immediate results by using this method but it can supposedly make teeth whiter in the long-term. What you do is put a spoonful of coconut oil into your mouth after brushing and swish it around for 5-20 minutes. The side-effects are boredom and jaw-ache but it could be well worth it. Alternatively you can apply the coconut oil directly to your teeth by adding some to your toothbrush or rubbing it on with a clean cloth.
10 Turmeric
This fragrant spice is also used by some to whiten teeth. Some people see immediate results when using turmeric for others it can take a week or so. You'll need a toothbrush you can throw away to carry out this natural tooth whitening method because it will get stained from the turmeric. All you need to do is wet your brush and dip it into 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric then brush your teeth so that they are covered with the spice. Leave it on for 3-5 minutes then rinse and brush you teeth with normal toothpaste afterwards.
9 Activated Charcoal
This stuff is supposedly a natural cure for acne as well as a teeth whiter, many DIY beauty gurus are fans of the many benefits of activated charcoal. Anyway, when you brush your teeth with it they will go jet black and it will look as if you've got some Halloween thing going on. But it won't stay like that or stain your teeth supposedly. Activated charcoal works by absorbing the substances that stain your teeth. You can swish a mixture of the powder and water around and leave it for a few minutes like you would with oil pulling. Or dip your toothbrush into the powder and brush as normal.
8 Strawberry, Salt and Baking Soda
This is arguably going to be a little tastier than some of the other methods we have discussed! Now we already know that baking soda is a mild abrasive that scrubs teeth, and so it salt. This home made toothpaste works well without the baking soda too. Strawberry has some interesting benefits for your teeth as the vitamin C works against the plaque that stains your teeth, and it contains a natural stain remover in the form of the enzyme malic acid. Make a paste using a mashed up strawberry pulp, pinch of sea salt and ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Apply it to your teeth and leave for five minutes before rinsing.
7 Apple Cider Vinegar
Again this won't get you instant results but after a month or so of using apple cider vinegar you'll have pearly whites according to some. Like lemon juice, apple cider vinegar could be damaging to tooth enamel if you don't rinse properly and brush your teeth afterwards. So, in order to get the benefits you could try using it as a mouthwash. Or you could mix 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar with 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda to make a toothpaste and brush as normal a few times per week. It's a really great cleaning agent for your teeth and gums.
6 Orange or Lemon Peels
The peels of these tasty fruits can supposedly work super well for whitening teeth. All you need to do for this technique is rub the white bit on the inside of the peel against your teeth before you brush. They work so well because they contain compounds that whiten teeth naturally such as vitamin C. They also contain a compound called limonene which is a natural solvent cleaner and a substance that you might find in store-bought whitening products. Yet again bear in mind that the acidic nature of citrus peels can be problematic.
5 Hydrogen Peroxide
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It sounds a bit scary because of its chemical name but is actually something that's recommended for whitening your teeth at home. Many mouthwashes and toothpastes contain a 1.5% concentration. Essentially, it's a bleaching agent and also works by getting rid of bacteria and pesky debris in your mouth. It's definitely advisable that you check with your dentist about using hydrogen peroxide as prolonged use might not be advised. Plus be sure that your bottle is a concentration of 3% or less so you don't go burning your mouth.
4 Holy Basil
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I hadn't heard of this before, I wondered if it was blessed by Jesus or something. Turns out that it's a plant that's often used in natural remedies because of its various beneficial properties. Amongst other things, it works towards naturally whitening your teeth and that's what we're interested in. To use it you'll want to dry out the leaves in the sun so you can make a powder. Mix this powder into your toothpaste and brush as normal. As an alternative you can brush your teeth with a mixture of holy basil and mustard oil.
3 Margosa
If you want to go ultra natural then you can use margosa twigs instead of a toothbrush to brush your teeth. To be honest though you could only imagine hippies and eco-warriors brushing their teeth with twigs in a forest. An easier alternative would be to use a few drops of margosa oil mixed in with your regular toothpaste instead. It works because it contains antiseptic and astringent properties, and will protect your teeth from dental cavities. As an added bonus margosa oil will also work to prevent bad breath.
2 Sage
Sage has astringent, anti-fungal and antibiotic properties making it an awesome way to clean and whiten teeth. As well as being a tasty cooking ingredient, it will help remove stains. What you'll need to do with this one is to create a powder to add to your toothpaste in a similar way you would with holy basil. You could also mix the herb into a baking soda paste for an all-natural way of brushing your teeth.
1 Licorice
No licorice whips do not work as a way to whiten your teeth naturally, which is unfortunate. The type that will whiten your teeth is the natural licorice root. It's an age-old way to clean your teeth that's supposedly still used in some parts of the world. The way in which it works is by chewing on the dry licorice root or using it as a brush. It might taste a bit gross, but we do a lot of strange things in the name of beauty!
Sources: wikihow.com, redbookmag.com, natural-homeremedies
