The Dangers Of Fruit For Whitening Teeth At Home
Many people reject commercial products that aim to whiten the teeth, in favor of natural at home teeth whitening methods. And one of the natural alt...
Many people reject commercial products that aim to whiten the teeth, in favor of natural at home teeth whitening methods. And one of the natural alternatives most often mentioned is to use lemons, rubbing the peel across the teeth or drinking lemon juice with a bit of salt, or to mash up some strawberries and actually brush with them. Many people who advocate the use of fruits in this way often say they see noticeable tooth whitening within a few days. Yet despite their supposedly healthy qualities, these fruits still may not turn out to be the best solution.
Using lemons as an at home teeth whitening method depends on citric acid to do the whitening. Yet the means by which this acid creates the whiter effect is to leech calcium from the enamel. Since it’s the calcium itself that makes the teeth a sort of off white rather than white, removing it does fulfill the goal of making the teeth much whiter. But losing the calcium also makes the teeth weaker, with thinner enamel. Add to this the extra sugar in the fruit, and this tooth whitener could ultimately become responsible for more cavities.
Are strawberries any better as a homemade tooth whitener? Not really. Its seeds are coarse and can abrade and damage your teeth, plus the acid can have a similar effect to that in lemons. Actually, the acid contained in strawberries essentially softens the enamel. That’s why it’s suggested that a person will want to wait twenty minutes after eating them before cleaning the teeth, to give the saliva an opportunity to restock the minerals in the enamel. The use of actual strawberries to brush the teeth, especially on a regular basis, might be not the ideal approach to whitening your teeth.
There’s an irony involved in using at home teeth whitening methods that make tooth enamel thinner and weaker. For the most part, the yellowish color of teeth comes from the dentin inside, and the color shows through the enamel, which is translucent. So if that enamel gradually becomes thinner, this yellowish color will eventually become more prominent. A tooth whitener designed to remove yellow may ultimately make it more pronounced instead. It would seem that even though they sound healthier, using strawberries or lemons don’t serve the purpose of whitening teeth very well.
For that matter, with the majority of your teeth’s color being determined by the dentin, it may not truly be feasible to make teeth much whiter than they were to start with. The more vital mission is to keep maintain the health of your teeth, and a continuous application of either lemons or strawberries is not likely to achieve that goal.
The popularity of teeth whitening products and procedures has grown enormously in the last little while. Lots of people are becoming aware that a white smile is a great way to look more attractive, not to mention younger. Find out what the choices are in teeth bleaching products at the Teeth Bleaching site.