Yellow teeth are never a pleasant sight, especially when there’s a camera around! And whether yours are less than bright from smoking, too much coffee, a fancy for red wine, or poor brushing skills, you can return that once spectacular smile to its former glory without the use of harsh, teeth bleaching creams, gels, and peroxide strips.
Here are 15 natural ways to turn that upside yellow smile into a dazzling white smile…
1. Baking soda
The secret to whitening your smile has been in your freezer all along! You’ve probably already noticed that those fancy whitening toothpastes contain baking soda. Well you can save yourself some money by simply wetting your toothbrush, dipping the bristles into a little baking soda and brushing stains away once per week.
2. Cheese
A few bites of cheese before you guzzle that glass of wine, coats your teeth with a residue, protecting against staining.
3. Skip the soda
We all know that soda is high in acids that are harsh on the stomach, but you might not know they’re also harsh on your teeth and wear away at your enamel.
4. Water
If you eat a particularly stain-causing meal—like beets, red wine, or coffee—just rinse your mouth and teeth off by gargling with H20 for a quick 30-seconds.
5. Orange peel
Rubbing your teeth with the white side of an orange peel removes tartar from the surface.
6. Kaolin clay
The wonders of this natural abrasive clay works just like baking soda as a tooth whitening agent. Again, use it no more than once per week by wetting your toothbrush, dipping it into a bit of clay, and brushing away!
7. Celery
You might make fun of celery for its lack of nutritional value; however, if you chew on a stalk, it will help remove plaque from your teeth.
8. Leafy greens
As if there weren’t already enough reasons to stock up on spinach, kale, and other dark green veggies, leafy greens contain a mineral compound that acts as a barrier to protect your teeth against sticky stains.
9. Mint
Rubbing a mint leaf over your teeth will banish plaque and protect your teeth against stains.
10. Apples
Turns out an apple a day keeps the stains on your teeth away too. Crunch fruits, like apples, make your mouth produce excess saliva, which aids in the removal of bacteria and stains from teeth.
11. Coffee whitener
A splash of whitener—like cream, soy, almond, or cow’s milk—in your morning cup of black coffee or tea—will make stains less likely to stick to the surface of your teeth.
12. Raw carrots
Raw carrot sticks work to whiten teeth as you eat because of their abrasive surface that scrub the teeth clean of stains.
13. Nuts and seeds
Munching on a handful of seeds and nuts will scrape away plaque that builds up between brushing and massage your gums.
14. Chew gum
The chewing motion flushes the mouth with saliva loosens stains, plaque and bacteria—just be sure it’s sugar free.
15. Drink white juices
Cranberry or grape juice might be your favorite, but if you switch to a white blend you will spare your teeth the stains.
