Teeth Whitening Home Remedies - Do They Work?

Wanting whiter teeth is an easy way to freshen up your appearance and even make you look younger. More people are looking for a natural approach to dental care and may try out some "natural home remedies," many of which have been passed down from generation to generation.

Even with a wide variety of teeth whitening toothpastes and wildly popular whitening kits, strips, lights, and other procedures, some people are still turning to those so-called home remedies, primarily for budgetary reasons. But do they really work? And more importantly, could they actually be dangerous?

1. Whitening Teeth With Lemon Juice

Some people advocate brushing or rinsing with lemon juice to whiten teeth, but lemon juice is actually citric acid and can harm teeth, causing them to lose calcium (which gives teeth some of their off-white color). Once calcium is lost, it’s irreplaceable. Lemons have a pH of 2.3, which is very low. The lower the pH, the more acidic it is. If you put lemon juice directly on your teeth, it starts causing damage immediately. It is quite common for dentists to deal with tooth destruction caused by people sucking on lemons.

And combining lemon juice with baking soda -- sometimes also recommended -- is another bad idea. Not only will the acid of the lemon juice (which has been shown to dissolve actual bone) leech calcium from teeth, the baking soda will erode tooth enamel with the potential to cause permanent damage.

2. Whitening Teeth With Strawberries

This is another "home remedy" purported to help whiten teeth, but can be dangerous. Strawberries get their power to brighten teeth from ascorbic acid -- and acids are harmful to teeth. If someone chooses to brush with strawberries, they should be sure to brush their teeth immediately afterwards with fluoride toothpaste, and then floss.

3. Whitening Teeth With Apples

Whitening your teeth by crunching on an apple? While apples have plenty of wholesome and healthy attributes, whitening your teeth safely isn't among them. Apples are fine as a snack, but not as a substitute for oral hygiene like brushing and flossing. And any brightening that might occur is the result of an apple's slight amount of naturally-occurring malic acid -- only you’d have to eat so many apples to see any difference that you’re running the risk of acid-based damage again.

4. Whitening Teeth With Baking Soda

Baking soda won't bleach your teeth, but it can remove plaque, as it is an abrasive. Be warned, though -- because of this abrasive quality, if you use baking soda too frequently, it will damage tooth enamel. Most commercial toothpastes will remove stains as effectively as baking soda, and do so without the side effects or risks.

5. Whitening Teeth Using Wood Ash

Can you believe some folks claim that brushing your teeth with wood ash from your fireplace is a safe way to whiten teeth? The reason wood ash whitens teeth is because it contains potassium hydroxide, also known as lye. Only hard wood ash contains significant concentrations of potassium hydroxide; soft wood ash does not. Whitening with wood ash is dangerous. The harshness of the potassium hydroxide could significantly damage your teeth over time.

6. Brushing Teeth With Sea Salt

Some folks also advocate the use of a paste or a "rub" of sea salt, combined with water or even an acid, such as cider vinegar, to whiten teeth. The use of abrasive compounds along with the acid-based vinegar will probably brighten teeth a bit, but no more so than a commercial application. Plus, with repeated use of the salt/vinegar paste, you will experience tooth damage through decay or increased sensitivity.