About 18 per cent of people report “ usually concealing their teeth in photos ,” many due to being embarrassed over the yellow appearance of their teeth . Having great teeth is very important in our culture today — hence the growing number of people using white strips at home or turning to professional in -office whitening treatments. Your teeth are some of the first things people notice; they’re a sign of health as well as confidence . When making a first impression , most worry about having aged , crooked or discoloured teeth , which can send a signal that you don ’t really care about yourself . Who doesn ’ t want to have a beautiful smile with white, sparkling teeth ? But what the best way to whiten your teeth ?
The sad truth is that some people, no matter how many times they brush their teeth , have stained teeth from habits like drinking coffee or tea and /or smoking . Often , yellow – or brown - tinted teeth – can also point to a bigger problem: unhealthy gums , thinning enamel and ov
erall poor dental hygiene.
Whitening the teeth alone won’t help to protect the teeth or gums from cavities or diseases, such as gingivitis — so while white teeth are certainly a nice thing to have , it helps to keep things in perspective.
As one dentist reporting for the
Dentistry IQ website puts it, “ It is a misnomer that whiter teeth are the same as healthy teeth , since tooth colour has very little to do with the health of the tooth . The consumer perception, though , is that white teeth equal a healthy mouth
, and perception is reality. ”
Teeth become discoloured , turning yellow or even a beige or brown colour , due to stains that develop on both the surface of teeth ( the enamel ) as well as deeper in the teeth ’s structure . Tooth enamel is the hard, white surface of your teeth .
Underneath enamel is a pale brown substance called dentin , which can become more visible when enamel gets thinner — a very common occurrence for many adults . Dental erosion ( erosive tooth wear) results from chronic loss of dental hard tissue that is chemically etched away from the tooth surface by acid and /or chelation ( without bacterial involvement) .
Some of the reasons enamel thins ? Risk factors include aging , genetics and intake of foods that promote erosion and / or staining . Many of these same unhealthy habits also increase your risk for gum disease .
While it’s unrealistic to expect that your teeth will remain shiny and very white into older age, many factors that accelerate the rate of teeth discoloration can be avoided.
Brush after drinking or eating
The best way to whiten your teeth naturally , however not always the easiest , is to simply brush your teeth after eating or drinking something. This takes a lot of persistence and can even be kind of difficult depending on where you are at the time of eating ( such as work or school ) .
Avoiding smoking cigarettes, drinking too much coffee and / or soda , improving your oral hygiene overall, and eating a healthy diet also help prevent yellow teeth . If you do regularly drink staining beverages , do so through a straw and try to cut back . Try to drink more plain water after eating or drinking something staining or acidic to help reduce the negative effects .
Most food does not stain teeth , but if you are a coffee drinker or if you smoke, you can pretty much count on having discolored teeth over time due to thinning enamel and /or staining . If this is the case, then having your teeth cleaned every three months may be in order , besides trying some of the natural remedies listed here.
Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is an antibacterial agent and works great as a total mouth and gum cleaner and keeps the mouth free of germs. A good oral mouth rinse can be made using hydrogen peroxide; use half water and half hydrogen peroxide, swish around in your mouth for about one minute , and then rinse .
Research shows hydrogen peroxide keeps breath fresh by eliminating bad bacteria due to acting as a natural antiseptic /antibacterial agent . According to the Dentistry Network , it has many uses in dentistry today, with its most common application to whiten your teeth . It’ s also capable of providing natural protection against gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis .
For another way to use this product, mix a small amount of hydrogen peroxide with a small amount of baking soda in order to make a paste that helps remove more plaque from teeth . A review published in the Journal of Dentistry found that “results from the five controlled clinical studies on over 270 subjects consistently demonstrate that Arm & Hammer baking soda dentifrices enhanced plaque removal effectiveness of tooth brushing to a significantly greater extent than the non- baking soda dentifrice products. ”
Source: Draxe. com
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