Natural remedies to have white teeth
Even the most aggressive treatments for whitening teeth lose their effect after six months. They are expensive and can damage the enamel. Below is everything you should know about the color of your teeth.
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The natural color of the enamel varies from yellow to light gray. Enamel is a very hard substance that surrounds and protects the dentine of the teeth in the part of these that appears outside the gums.
Dentin is the part of the tooth that is inserted into the gum, and can be considered as "the bone" of the tooth. As the enamel is somewhat translucent, it allows the dentine to be transparent. Therefore, the color of the dentin will also determine the color of your teeth.
The enamel of the teeth can be stained like clothes
The tooth enamel is slightly porous, which means that the fine particles of the food you drink can penetrate it and stay "hooked". This explains the "pretty" purple color that teeth acquire when eating blueberries, and also when drinking red wine, rich in tannins.
The reality is that all the foods that stain your tablecloth also stain your teeth:
Colored drinks such as coffee, tea, cola, red wine and dark fruit juices (grape, blueberry, etc.);
Foods with strong colors, such as blackberries, cranberries, cherries, pomegranates, red fruit ice cream, tomato or curry sauce, beets, licorice ... All these foods contain pigments that stick to the enamel and leave marks, which are more durable as more porous is the enamel.
What makes the enamel porous
All acidic foods increase the porosity of the enamel and, unfortunately, these foods are very numerous: meats, eggs, dairy products, vegetable oils, citrus fruits, refined sugar, soft drinks, energy drinks, beer, artificial sweeteners ...
To avoid damaging your enamel, avoid brushing your teeth in the next half hour after consuming acidic foods. This will give your enamel time to harden again.
Candies, sodas with sugar and even fruit juices contain sucrose, which covers the enamel. The bacteria that are in the mouth naturally, especially the horrible Streptococcus mutans, transforms the sucrose into lactic acid, which demineralizes the enamel crystals, favoring the invasion of bacteria inside the tooth and its consequent destruction.
It is not the amount of sugar consumed, but how often it is made, which causes more damage to your teeth. Each time you drink sugar, the enamel is demineralized and remains vulnerable for about 30 minutes. Thus, eating small amounts of sugar continuously is worse for the teeth than a large quantity at one time.
Pay special attention in the days after a teeth whitening treatment. These treatments, based on oxygenated water, increase the porosity of the enamel for 48 hours. Your dentist or the beauty institute that performs the operation will talk about "hydrogen peroxide solution", which is more serious, but it is the same.
The foods that keep teeth white
However, not all foods leave yellow teeth. In fact, many of them contribute to maintain their pearl color:
- Apples, pears, celery, carrots, cauliflower and cucumbers. These fruits and vegetables have enough fiber to achieve a natural tooth brushing effect.
- Lettuce, spinach and broccoli. These vegetables contain a compound that produces a thin film that is deposited on your teeth and helps protect them against stains. One more reason to start meals with a green salad.
- Cheeses contain fats and proteins that neutralize the acids in foods. The cheese stimulates the production of saliva, and also contains calcium and phosphorus, which contribute to the protection of the teeth through the remineralization of the enamel (formed in 95% by minerals).
Whiten your teeth at home
Here are two tricks that our grandmothers used to whiten teeth at home without any risk:
- Rub your teeth with the inside of an orange peel, that is, with the white part that is between the rind and the segments of the fruit. In scientific language, the white part of the orange is called the mesocarp and contains chemicals that whiten teeth. Rub your teeth with this part for 45 seconds and brush them half an hour later.
- Strawberry paste and baking powder (baking soda): strawberries contain a compound that acts as a natural bleaching agent. Crush a ripe strawberry and mix it with baking soda until you get a paste. Strawberries are acidic, but soda neutralizes acidity. Apply this paste on the teeth, let act 20 minutes and rinse. Wait half an hour and then brush your teeth to remove the natural sugar from the strawberry.
- Some people claim that toothbrushing with charcoal also whitens teeth, but I have no opinion about it.