Have you ever wished that you could get a glamorous white smile with homemade teeth whitening instead of all those chemicals?
Would you rather whiten your yellow teeth in the comfort of your own home instead of in a dental office?
Do you want to lose those stains on your teeth without losing dollars from your bank account?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then you’re probably interested in the possibility of DIY teeth whitening for a natural white smile.
How to Whiten Teeth at Home
In comparison with a costly in-office professional whitening treatment, at-home whitening kits work quite well. There are several highly effective options on the market for you to choose from depending on your personal preference.
Whitening Trays
Whitening trays are one of the easiest ways to get professional-level teeth bleaching right in your own home.
Teeth bleaching trays come in either a firm custom mold that fits your teeth or a one-size-fits-all kind of appliance made from soft rubber. The whitening trays include either a set of two trays, one for the upper and one for the lower teeth, or a combination tray that’s designed to cover upper and lower teeth at once. Your dentist can help you out if you want a customized tray to wear at home. Alternatively, you could order one online as part of a teeth bleaching kit.
You’ll wear the tray or set of trays with a bleaching gel in it for a set amount of time each day until your teeth have reached the shade of white that you want.
Here’s how you use the teeth bleaching trays:
- Clean your teeth by brushing and flossing.
- Apply a small amount of bleaching gel in both of the trays, upper and lower.
- Pop the trays in your mouth and hold it in place by gently biting down.
- Wear the trays for anywhere from a half hour to several hours, depending on the instructions of the kit you chose.
- Remove the trays, spit out the gel, and rinse your mouth.
One popular whitening tray brand is HiSmile. This kit includes an LED and is popular because it is considered one of the best whitening products for sensitive teeth. If you’ve heard about this bleaching tray kit and want to know more, check out our HiSmile review.
Whitening Strips
Whitening strips are a convenient and mess-free way to whiten your teeth at home. These adhesive strips have a bleaching agent embedded right in them. You simply wrap one strip over the biting edges of your upper front teeth and one over your lower front teeth. This Crest Whitestrips review discusses more about how these strips work.
Whitening Toothpaste
A whitening toothpaste is a good way to brighten up your tooth color at home without buying an expensive bleaching kit. Whitening toothpastes usually contain some kind of abrasive grit like baking soda or activated charcoal to scrub away surface stains. Using a whitening toothpaste also provides you with the added motivation to brush every day since you can whiten your teeth as you clean your mouth.
There’s one toothpaste, however, that goes beyond scrubbing out the superficial stains. Read our Supersmile review to find out how using this one toothpaste at home could eliminate the need for any other bleaching kit. And, if you want to check other alternatives, another great whitening toothpaste is the one offered by GO Smile. Read GOSmile reviews to get better insights on the product.
Whitening Mouthwash
Whitening mouthwash is perfect for giving your tooth color a subtle boost or maintaining it after you’ve already bleached your teeth. It’s an easy way to incorporate a little extra whitening power into your usual oral hygiene routine.
The Best Way to Whiten Teeth at Home
Philips Zoom whitening is probably the best home teeth whitening system. It’s a powerful product that only your dentist can safely prescribe and supply you with. To use Philips Zoom at-home whitening, you will need to plan a trip to the dental office where you’ll get fitted for the trays. But the rest of the whitening process all happens at home.
Don’t want to see your dentist for a professional at-home whitening kit?
You can order online something that will get you similarly fast and dramatic results. It may cost more than the simple at-home teeth whitening DIY hacks, but at least it’s more affordable than seeing a dentist.
Shop through these best teeth whitening kits to find something that works for you.
How to Whiten Teeth at Home in One Day
Stained teeth can be caused by a variety of factors. Some stains are superficial and easy to remove in just a day. Others are embedded deep within your teeth and may require weeks of bleaching to get your teething looking white. Visiting a dentist for a teeth bleaching session is the only way you can get dramatically whiter teeth in one day since the professional treatments are the most effective.
You won’t get such dramatic results at home, however.
While you shouldn’t expect any major changes in one day, there are two ways you can try to get your teeth a little whiter in a day of at-home treatments:
- Order a professional-grade at-home whitening kit online and see how white it gets your teeth after one day of use.
- Brighten up your teeth by scrubbing away surface stains and dental plaque with baking soda or a whitening toothpaste.
If you try one of these techniques, your teeth will look at least a little bit brighter within just one day.
DIY Teeth Whitening
What about whitening your teeth without bleach?
There are a few natural remedies you can concoct right at home that can get you a brighter smile.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil teeth whitening is based on an Indian Ayurvedic practice that dates back thousands of years: oil pulling.
Oil pulling is the practice of swishing a couple spoonfuls of oil in your mouth for as long as twenty minutes per day.
Many people believe that the benefits of oil pulling include:
- Fresher breath
- Improved oral health
- Improved health overall
- Whiter teeth
Unfortunately, there is no research supporting the idea that swishing with coconut oil actually whitens your teeth. But some oil pulling enthusiasts swear that this works for them. If you want to give coconut oil a try, then do so carefully. It won’t harm your teeth, but there is a possibility of developing a kind of pneumonia from inhaling oil droplets during oil pulling.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is really a classic teeth whitening home remedy. It’s a common ingredient in commercially produced teeth whitening toothpaste because it’s gritty and can rub out surface stains on teeth. Instead of buying a whitening toothpaste, you can simply brush with a little baking soda to get a similar effect. This is an especially useful DIY toothpaste if you’re sensitive to any of the other ingredients in toothpaste.
To use baking soda, wet the bristles of your toothbrush with water and then sprinkle it with enough baking soda to coat it. Brush with this paste just as you would with a regular toothpaste.
When you use baking soda to whiten your teeth, remember to brush gently since it can be irritating to your gums.
DIY Teeth Whitening Paste
The most effective natural teeth whitener is probably this DIY whitening toothpaste: baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Both items are natural and affordable and chances are good that you probably have both of these products in your home right now. Whitening your teeth naturally doesn’t get any easier than this!
Mix together a teaspoon of baking soda with just enough hydrogen peroxide to form a paste. Brush this onto your teeth and leave it for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly. This homemade whitening toothpaste can cause gum irritation and tooth sensitivity if you use it too often. Aim for just a few times per week until you start to see results.
You might have heard about making a homemade toothpaste that includes the use of an acid such as lemon juice or crushed strawberries. Avoid these recipes because acid is unhealthy for your tooth enamel and can make it start to dissolve. But, also be careful with charcoal tooth whitening, because its overuse can cause damage too.
Teeth Whitening Home Remedies: Pros and Cons
Weighing the advantages and disadvantages of whitening your teeth at home will help you to make a smart treatment decision.
- Natural whitening agents with no preservatives, if you make them yourself
- Save money
- More control over your results
- Less likely to be as effective as professional teeth whitening treatments
- Can be some negative side-effects and possible adverse reactions or sensitivities
Seeing a dentist to get your teeth whitened is the best and safest way. But when it comes to doing it at home, you do have a range of options to choose from. You can opt for the all-natural methods such as baking soda, coconut oil, or hydrogen peroxide whitening toothpaste. There are also countless over-the-counter whitening strips, rinses, and toothpastes which are affordable and easy to use right at home.
Alternatively, you could go pro and order a teeth bleaching kit online to get professional results right in the comfort and privacy of your own home like the great results provided by Snow based on Snow Teeth Whitening reviews.
Sources
- 9 Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide. Howstuffworks.com. (2019). Retrieved 4 January 2021, from https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-hints-tips/cleaning-organizing/hydrogen-peroxide-uses.htm
- Acid Effects On Enamel And How To Prevent Them. Colgate.com. (2020). Retrieved 4 January 2021, from https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/basics/nutrition-and-oral-health/acid-effects-on-enamel-0316
- Does Natural Teeth Whitening Work? - American Dental Association. Mouthhealthy.org. (2020). Retrieved 4 January 2021, from https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/w/natural-teeth-whitening.
- Lipoid (Lipid) Pneumonia Symptoms and Treatment. Healthline.com. (2020) Retrieved 4 January 2021, from https://www.healthline.com/health/lipoid-pneumonia
- Oil pulling with coconut oil: How-to and benefits. Medicalnewstoday.com. (2020). Retrieved 4 January 2021, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323757#benefits.
- Oil Pulling. Mouthhealthy.org. (2020). Retrieved 4 January 2021, from https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/o/oil-pulling.
