Using Lemons to Whiten Your Teeth
Posted by writeradmin
I am looking at some DIY teeth whitening options. One site mentioned using lemons. I do keep a lot of lemons in my house. I also have lemon essential oils. Which of those would be better?
Carol
Dear Carol,
I am glad you wrote before moving forward with this. Lemons are a citrus fruit, which means they have a lot of citric acid. Shocking, right? That is important, though, because citric acid will etch your teeth. When your teeth are etched, there is damage to the enamel of the teeth. This means that your teeth will actually end up darker because the damage to the teeth will pick up more stains than they normally would with a healthy tooth enamel.
In fact, I always recommend that people rinse out their mouth before brushing their teeth if they’ve drunk anything with citrus or even a soda. Otherwise, they are grinding that acid into their teeth while they brush. The same thing actually happens to people who use an over-the-counter whitening toothpaste, though on a smaller scale. This is because almost all of these toothpastes use an abrasive to remove the stains from your teeth.
The safest way to whiten your teeth is to have professional teeth whitening done through a dentist. However, if you really don’t want to do that, you can use Crest Whitestrips. They can be purchased at any general store. They do work. Be aware of a couple of downsides, though. First, they are not as strong as what your dentist will use so you will not get very white teeth with just one box. It will likely take many boxes to get significant results. The strips only cover the front six teeth. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide so that means you will need to use extra strips each time to cover your teeth, which means even more boxes.
It will probably end up being cheaper and faster with a dentist in the long run.
This blog is brought to you by Mt. Dora Dentist Dr. Michelle Stillman.
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