We are all in the pursuit of a whiter, more dazzling smile. However, habits, like sipping on coffee or red wine, taking antibiotics, or eating dark berries, can come in the way of your maintaining your pearly whites. If you want to have a brighter smile without buying products laden with chemicals from the store, here are a few at-home remedies that you can try.
Fibrous Foods
Yes! Fibrous foods, like apples, can help manually exfoliate your teeth. Carrots and celery are also great options. Since you munch a lot when you eat these foods, your mouth produces excess saliva, which acts as a natural cleaning agent.
Apple Cider Vinegar
ACV delivers a lot of benefits for your body. But, did you know it can also help remove stubborn teeth stains? That said, it’s important to be extra careful when you use it because the acid can be strong enough to remove the enamel on your tooth as well. If you want to try this, you could dilute about half a spoon of apple cider vinegar with a cup of water. Then, use your toothbrush to slowly massage it onto your teeth before bed. Make sure to rinse thoroughly afterward and then brush once more with your toothpaste.
Calcium
Your tooth enamel is made up of the mineral calcium. So, it’s important that you get enough of it. To up your calcium intake, you could try including calcium-rich foods in your diet.
Baking Soda
Removing laundry stains, freshening refrigerators, and making cakes – is there anything baking soda cannot do? Well, there’s one more important use for baking soda – it can help whiten your teeth. Baking soda is alkaline, and thus, helps lighten stains on your teeth. However, it’s important that you don’t overuse it. Just make a paste of baking soda and water and brush with it – if you feel any sensation of burning or tingling, stop using it immediately.
Limit Your Intake of Coffee
We know this is not fun, but this is one of the quickest and easiest ways to keep your teeth stain-free. Drinks like coffee, black tea, soda, and red wine have staining effects on the teeth. If you must have these drinks, try using a straw to sip them.