5 DIY Teeth-Whitening Remedies You Need Up Your Sleeve

Unsplash/Alex Holyoake

Whatever your vice may be, whether it’s smoking, coffee or a sugar-filled diet, yellow teeth can get in the way of your confidence. Before you go and buy all kinds of chemical teeth whiteners, check out your fridge or pantry for a natural remedy. Instead of spending all of your money on over-the-counter whitening products, try a few of these natural whitening remedies first.

1. Baking Soda

If there’s one pantry staple that people have across the board, it’s baking soda. The household staple functions as a teeth whitener in two ways. It removes plaque built-up on your teeth and the alkaline powder in baking soda can help to remove discolorations.

Mix a few teaspoons of baking soda with enough water or lemon juice to make a paste. Brush your teeth with the paste and let it sit for a minute and rinse off. Keep in mind, If you use baking soda too often, it’ll start to damage the enamel on your teeth. Try this technique every few weeks or so.

2. Coconut Oil

Unsplash/Chinh Le Duc

Oil pulling is an old Ayurvedic practice that involves swooshing around oil in your mouth. It can help to heal tooth decay, whiten your teeth and give you an overall feeling of cleanliness in your mouth.

Take two teaspoons of coconut oil (which is both antifungal and antimicrobial) and lightly swoosh it in between your teeth for 10 to 20 minutes. Spit out the oil afterward in a trash can, wash your mouth out with water and then brush your teeth like normal. Do this for two weeks straight — that’s every day — and twice a week after that. You’ll be keeping your oral hygiene in check in a natural, easy way.

For an extra step, add a drop or two of peppermint oil, or any of your favorite essential oils, to the mix.

3. Food-Grade Hydrogen Peroxide

For something on the strong side, you can use food-grade hydrogen peroxide to help whiten your teeth. The food-grade kind is not as concentrated as the kind you’ll find in teeth whitening kits (it’s made for processing cheese and flour). After you brush your teeth, swoosh it around and then rinse your mouth with water. You won’t want to swallow any of the hydrogen peroxide so make sure you rinse thoroughly.

4. Orange Peel

Unsplash/Jonathan Pielmayer

The next time you’re eating oranges, save the peels. You can use the peels of organic oranges to naturally whiten your teeth. Simply rub the white part of the orange peel on your teeth — this easy and cost-effective whitening hack will help to remove surface stains.

The white part of the orange peel contains compounds like vitamin C and pectin, which act as natural whiteners. The actual peel of the orange isn’t acidic, so you won’t have to worry about your enamel eroding. Remember to brush your teeth afterward and give your mouth a rinse to avoid any potential acid left behind.

5. Turmeric And Coconut Oil

Add teeth whitener to the laundry list of benefits that come from turmeric. If you mix the golden yellow spice with coconut oil, you’ll have a natural whitener on your hands to give you those pearly whites you’ve always wanted.

Mix a tablespoon of coconut oil with a little bit of turmeric, brush your teeth with the mixture and let it sit on your teeth for five minutes. Rinse and brush afterward. After a few applications, you should notice a difference.

Bottom line: While we can’t claim that any natural home remedies are more effective than over-the-counter ones to get whiter teeth, you can feel better about what you’re putting on your teeth and in your body.

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