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A cheap alternative to tooth whitening kits

O

OBIO

Retired SOH Admin
Another one of my money saving tips for ya all. You know those tooth whitening kits and pastes they sell at the store for big bucks? Well, here's how I keep my pearly whites all pearly white....for CHEAP!

Step 1: Baking Soda. Once a week I take my toothbrush, wet it, and press the bristles into a small bowl of baking soda until loaded. Then I brush my teeth with it. Straight baking soda. Doesn't taste the greatest, but it really cleans my teeth, removes any tartar build up, reduces plaque.

Step 2: Hydrogen Peroxide. Yep, the stuff that bubbles when you pour it onto a cut. That stuff. Two or three times a week, I mix up a 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% water mix....and use it as a mouth wash. Just need enough to do two good 30 second swishes. This solution will totally de-germify your mouth and tongue and clean your teeth and gums at the same time. After your first 30 second swish, spit out the solution then take a good look into your mouth in the mirror....you may be surprised just how foamy and bubbly everything is...especially your tongue....lots of bacteria grow in the bumply surface of your tongue...and that is the source of 80% or more of bad breath problems. After 2 30 second swishes with the HP/Water solution, brush your teeth with your preferred tooth paste. Your mouth will feel cleaner and fresher than you would ever imagine.

WARNING: DO NOT SWALLOW the hydrogen peroxide/water solution. And do not use it more than 3 times a week...if you do, it will really dry out the inner linings of your cheeks and can burn your gums. Once every 2 to 3 days is more than enough to help whiten your teeth, deep clean your gums, remove a gazillion bacteria.

There you have it...white sparkly teeth...and a much healthier mouth...for far less than those tooth whitening kits.

OBIO
 
OBIO's advice is dead on. Hydrogen Peroxide, cut with water. Swish it around and it will whiten your teeth.

As you age, the enamel in your teeth will yellow naturally. It doesn't necessarily mean you aren't taking care of them. But if you use OBIO's suggestion, you will keep your teeth a bit whiter before dentist cleanings.
 
The warning about not swallowing is also spot on, unless you don't want what's in your stomach! We had a dog that swallowed a pill once. The emergency vet told us to mix up the same 50/50 solution and giver about a teaspoon via syringe. It took about three seconds before she emptied out her stomach, including the pill!
 
Wouldn't start the home-grown baking soda/peroxide treatment too young, though.
It also de-calcifies the teeth, and makes them brittle.
Gives you enough time to save up for the dentures though.

Steel wire brush on a Dremel is probably more reliable...
 
Hi, obio. Interesting idea here. the way I do it is i use Colgate, then CVS mouthwash and ACT. I have Diabetes type2 so i have to take extra care for dental hygiene. But thats my daily regimen. Sometimes i do away with the act. Also, I swish hot water in my mouth while in work just to get tap water which has fluoride in it anyway and to get the debris out till i get home form work.
 
I cannot get over the fascination with having brighter than white choppers! It's normal (on this side of the Pond at least) to have an off-white colouring of the teeth. A lot of the over the counter dental whitening treatments actually damage the enamel,as Wing_Z has already alluded too, over a period of time. Heck..if you're that concerned about the whiteness of your teeth why not gargle a mouthful of neat bleach*? Hey,If you swallow it* it'll also bleach yer ass on the way out...2 for the price of 1!!!!:icon_lol:





*please don't try either of these suggestions
 
kilo delta said:
I cannot get over the fascination with having brighter than white choppers! It's normal (on this side of the Pond at least) to have an off-white colouring of the teeth.
*please don't try either of these suggestions
Click to expand...

I'm with you there. Another thing which baffles me especially amongst women is the combination of dazzlingly white and straight teeth, perfect body image, and this obsession with disfigurring themselves with awful tattoos. Megan Fox is a fine example of this. Oh and another thing, why do tattoo'd folk get annoyed when you look and try to read their "art". If there is text on a persons body, I would expect they wanted it read. But no they get aggressive.
 
Yes, be careful with the peroxide. Frequent use of peroxide orally can lead to chemical burning of the mucosa and subsequent sloughing of the tissue. Repeated irritation of tissues can also lead to changes in the tissues that may give rise to cancers.

Baking soda is an abrasive, that's why it cleans so well. The downside is that it is also abrasive against tooth enamel and especially exposed root surfaces and the gums, so again, be careful as you can damage teeth and gums. All toothpastes contains varying amounts of abrasives (hydrated silica), the whitening formulas usually have the highest concentrations of abrasives.

Neither baking soda nor hydrogen peroxide contain fluoride. Fluoride is an important part of taking care of your teeth as fluoride helps to remineralize the surface, both exposed dentin and the enamel, of the tooth. A well mineralized surface, in addition to being more resistant to the bacteria that cause tooth decay, also helps relieve tooth sensitivity to temperature changes. Fluoride also inhibits the growth of the bacteria that are responsible for periodontal disease.
 
Btw...I'm lucky enough to still have all of my own teeth,no fillings,no dentures and in great condition....my gums,though,will have to come out :icon_lol:
 
I watched a BBC show the other night called Wonderstuff (a 6 part serial) looking into so called wonder products, from soap to drain cleaner, deodorizers to de-greasers. One of the things looked at was toothpaste. It seems that it is in large part sand albeit very very fine (and they don't call it that), is a large constituant of toothpaste.
Well worth seeking out or catching if it ever crosses the ocean.
Damn I miss the Beeb! Horizon in particular. There is pitifully few programs (read "none" and you cannot count Discovery) of this nature over here. No wonder we are so low in the education tables and our young people are falling behind.
 
Polident Whitening tablets will work too. But you'll look funny frothing at the mouth for awhile while it does it's work. You can't take yers out like I can. LOL
 
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