Teeth Whitening at Home

One of the top most common complaint we all have about our teeth is that they're discolored from so many things. Such as drinking coffee, tea, smoking, eating highly pigmented foods, to quote a few as an example. This always result in an ugly yellowish tinge on our teeth that everyone of us loathes to see when we look into the mirror.

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If we do have extra money to burn spend, we can always visit a dentist for a quick whitening treatment. But let's face it, no matter the economy, we either don't have the extra money or even want to spend that extra money on teeth whitening. Unless we're earning S$10,000 a month from our jobs, that would have been a different story though. And this is one of the few reasons people start getting creative and looking in their own pantry for household products that does the job, but for a mere fraction of the price.

Cheap Ways to Whiten Teeth

DIY teeth whitening is one of those beauty treatments that sounds like it involves science and seemed rather hard to do, but honestly, it really isn't all that difficult to grasp and do note, no matter what your budget is, it will never ever burn a hole in your pocket and wallet for that. But be aware that if you are a regular caffeine drinker (coffee, black tea) or a regular smoker for years already, this DIY teeth whitening method might not be enough to restore the former whitening glory of your teeth. Maybe only just a little, in fact, these DIY tips are better suited for you if you just want your teeth to be a few shades whiter as it does not totally eliminate and get rid of severe stains.

Basically, you only need 2 products: Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda.

Yes, Hydrogen Peroxide is mainly used for cleaning cuts and scrapes, but surprisingly it works. Unsure still? Next time when you are out shopping in the supermarket, look at the ingredients in teeth whiteners and quality toothpastes as most times, hydrogen peroxide and/or baking soda is included in the ingredients list as well.

Hydrogen Peroxide as Mouthwash

Swap out your normal mouth rinse with hydrogen peroxide or mix it with a ratio of half cup mouth rinse and half cup hydrogen peroxide. Swish liquid (not gargle) around your mouth for at least a full minute before you spit it out. You can rinse your mouth again with plain tap water to get rid of the weird taste too. Just don't forgo the plain water mouth rinse please.

Baking Soda as Toothpaste

Make a mixture using a tiny amount of toothpaste (roughly the amount you need to brush your teeth with) in a small container, add in 1 teaspoon of baking soda and half a teaspoon of plain tap water. Once the mixture is thoroughly mixed and resembles the consistency of toothpaste, use it to brush your teeth for a full 2 minutes gently like how you would brush your teeth on a regular basis. Spit out and rinse your mouth thoroughly with plain tap water. Check your reflection in the mirror, does your teeth looks as if you've treated it with those expensive teeth whitener and expensive toothpaste products?

But please be aware that this is only recommended for a once weekly usage until you get the desired shade of white you want for your teeth while at the same time cutting down on teeth-staining food and drinks. If you must have these, at least do rinse your teeth with plain tap water and brush gently without toothpaste after consuming teeth-staining food and drinks to prevent your teeth from getting stained again. Once your teeth is in the shade of white you desired, limit the baking soda treatment to only once a month to maintain the whiteness.

Because if you use the baking soda treatment on a regular basis, it will gradually wear down the enamel on our teeth and make your teeth more susceptible to cavities. Basically, while you have a megawatt white smile, you'll at the same time suffer from sensitive teeth and cavities, which is worse than having teeth discoloration in the first place. Without overdoing this simple DIY, you can have a beautiful smile full of clean white teeth while saving hundreds of dollars to the dentist for professional teeth whitening. Because if you realized, I doubt dentists will ask you to go back for a weekly teeth whitening session.

First time round, they'll whiten your teeth as much as they possibly can without trying to do much damage to the enamel in your teeth. The rest is up to you on whether you want to take care of it or not. If you don't, you're just giving the dentist extra money on a monthly basis for teeth whitening.