Safe Ways to Get Bright White Teeth

Teeth are never naturally completely white. They are usually a light yellow that tend to darken with age. This is because the surface enamel cracks and erodes, which exposes the dentine. The dentine is more porous and absorbs more food colours and pigmentation. The stains can then grip onto plaque, causing a build-up of tartar on the teeth.

The internet is packed with 'advice' about how to have whiter teeth. Much of this advice is to be avoided, or at least given careful consideration, as most of them can cause damage to the teeth in the long term. Here's a quick run through on some of the most common pieces of 'advice'...

One of the most common forms of advice is to rinse the mouth with hydrogen peroxide every day. Please do not do this. Whilst you may see some positive results, Hydrogen peroxide has been found to cause tissue hyperplasias, which are precancerous tissue changes, if used for more than 5 days.

Lemon juice is a natural bleach and whitener, and a very good general purpose stain-remover. However it should never be used on teeth as the high Vitamin C content will strip the teeth of calcium and damage it faster than anything else. In fact avoid using any acids, even it is from relatively harmless ingredients such as strawberry's or other fruit. You do not know what quantity of acid you are applying, so it is difficult to calculate a safe level of usage. If you must use these methods, then rinse the mouth thoroughly with water, then brush with a fluoride toothpaste about 20 minutes later, when the enamel has hardened.

Brushing with salt and baking soda is also commonly recommended. You may indeed see some whitening results, but the prolonged 'scrubbing' of your teeth will eventually wear down the enamel, causing far greater problems than simple staining. If you do decide to go down this route, then limit its use to about once every two weeks.

There are some effective and far safer methods to get those white teeth you dream of. Here's a run down of some top tips...

Avoid, or a least reduce the consumption of coffee, tea, cola, red wine, tobacco - anything that stains.

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