Good news! You don’t have to go out and spend tons of money on expensive products or treatments. There are two common household products that whiten teeth – baking soda and peroxide.
Baking soda – also known as bicarbonate of soda – in addition to being one of the best products that you should have handy for cleaning and odor removal – it is a mild abrasive which effectively removes stains caused by tea, coffee, cigarettes, and other things from the teeth.
Mix the baking soda with a few drops of peroxide to make a paste. Peroxide? Yes, peroxide. This is another great household product that can be used to effectively whiten teeth. Hydrogen peroxide can be found at most drugstores and is usually sold in a brown opaque bottle, to prevent the hydrogen peroxide from reacting with light. Make sure you have a 3% solution, which is safe to use orally.
Hydrogen peroxide also makes an effective antibacterial mouthwash. Dilute hydrogen peroxide with an equal amount of water.
Back to your whitening toothpaste – dip your toothbrush into the mixture and brush your teeth for at least two minutes. Concentrate on getting the brush into all the cracks and crevices. Don’t brush your teeth for any longer than two minutes, as baking soda is a mild abrasive and may begin to erode the enamel on your teeth.
Baking soda doesn’t taste great. You can get used to it, or if you’d like, you can mix a little mint in with the mixture. Let it sit on your teeth for about two minutes after you’re done brushing. You can rinse your mouth with a little mouthwash or water. Thoroughly rinse your toothbrush with water after each use.
You should repeat the process of brushing your teeth with baking soda and peroxide every other day for one or two weeks. You will notice a slight difference in the whiteness of your teeth after just a few days, and a substantial difference after a couple of weeks. After a couple of weeks of brushing with baking soda every second day, you should cut back to doing it just once or twice a week. This is because the abrasive properties of the baking soda may damage the enamel on your teeth if used too frequently.