How to whiten teeth instantly at home

There are plenty of options to choose from when considering what at-home whitening product is right for you. Narrowing down your budget, desired length of treatment and whitening goals will help you choose. Speak with your dental professional about what OTC products they would recommend given your unique oral health.

Teeth Whitening Kits

An over-the-counter whitening kit can involve a mouthguard-like tray filled with a gel or paste made of a peroxide solution. The tray sits over your teeth for a few minutes to a few hours a day, for up to a month, until you’ve achieved your ideal shade of white.

“In the old days, people used to sleep with whitening trays in for eight hours at a time,” says Joe G. Willardsen, a cosmetic dentist in Las Vegas. “Now, people wear them for 15 or 20 minutes at a time but do so more frequently.”

Kits with trays vary widely in price, from “boil and bite” kits for $25 that you boil in hot water at home and mold to your mouth when the tray becomes malleable, to combo kits that include an LED light mouthpiece (designed to speed the whitening process, although research on light activation effectiveness is mixed) and a whitening pen, starting at $150.

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Teeth Whitening Strips

Teeth whitening strips are a popular form of at-home whitening because of their price point, ease of use and noteworthy results. When you apply the gel side of these plastic strips to your teeth, the peroxide-based solution penetrates your enamel for results that can last up to several months.

Like trays, strips give your teeth prolonged exposure to a whitening chemical. The instructions that come with your dental strip will indicate how long each day, and for how many days, you should wear the strips for optimal results. Typically, you wear them twice a day for a short period of about 10 to 30 minutes. You will do this regimen daily for about two weeks. Strips range in price from $10 to $70.

Find the best selling teeth whitening strips on Amazon.

Teeth Whitening Pens

Whitening pens can be helpful on-the-go tools for touch-ups and maintenance. But they’re less efficient at whitening and often not recommended as a standalone whitener. “Without a guard or bumper to keep lips away from the gel, it’s going to be quickly diluted by saliva,” says Willardsen.

Compliance is often high, however, thanks to pens’ price point (which can be as affordable as just a few dollars per pen) and the simple instruction to apply twice daily for two weeks. Whitening pens typically use either a hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide base.

Find the best selling teeth whitening pens on Amazon.

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Teeth Whitening Toothpaste

Abrasives such as hydrated silica, perlite and alumina are the most essential toothpaste ingredients when it comes to stain removal, according to a 2019 review of modern concepts in teeth whitening in Dentistry Journal.

However, it’s important to choose a toothpaste with the appropriate amount of abrasives. A toothpaste with a higher abrasivity could damage your enamel with long-term use. While this is a tradeoff for less abrasivity and a greater chance of developing stains, the removal of an enamel to expose the inner layer of dentin would cause more harm. Therefore, we recommend that you look for a stain removing toothpaste with the ADA Seal of Acceptance. If you choose a toothpaste without the ADA Seal of Acceptance, consult your dentist as to how often you should use it.

The American Dental Association ensures that with proper use, your enamel will not be weakened or damaged by their approved toothpastes. Some whitening toothpastes also contain low levels of hydrogen or carbamide peroxide, which, as noted above, brighten your smile too.

A report says that U.S citizens spend more than 1 billion dollars on tooth cavity treatment and teeth whitening products every year. These products might be able to whiten your teeth, but they can also damage them because they are manufactured out of chemicals. As a result, your precious smile would be spoiled and stained. What could be the solution? Don’t overthink; we have you covered! Using natural products and ways for teeth whitening is your way to go. Here are six ways for you to naturally whiten your teeth without the use of any harmful chemicals:

First things first, brush your teeth regularly:

Let’s get this out of the way immediately, brushing your teeth daily is the most important thing to do to keep your teeth shining bright. If you have not been brushing regularly, be sure to start doing it right now. If you have been brushing your teeth daily and your teeth still turn out to be yellowish, try brushing more often, especially after having meals or drinks, which can lead to yellow teeth.

However, don’t brush immediately after taking acidic foods or drinks because it might lead to erosion.

To give your smile some extra glamour, try using tooth-whitening toothpaste. These kinds of toothpaste use mild abrasives, which can help to remove tough stains from teeth surfaces. However, if you’re having any problem using such toothpaste, it’s a good idea to refer to your dentist.

Oil pulling:

Oil pulling is a traditional teeth whitening remedy by Indians. This technique is also meant to improve your overall oral health and hygiene. 

To perform oil pulling, you have to squish oil around in your mouth. Any oil could be used for oil pulling, but sunflower oil and sesame oil are mostly used. Coconut oil is also a popular option as it tastes delightful and offers other health benefits as well.

Oil pulling is useful because it helps remove many types of bacteria from the mouth. These bacteria cause plaque and make your teeth yellowish. Hence, oil pulling could be very useful for you in your tooth whitening quest.

There’s no scientific evidence supporting the fact that oil pulling is useful for tooth whitening, but the people who used this technique are pleased with the results. Plus, there’s no harm in giving it a try, is there?

To perform oil pulling with coconut oil, take one tablespoon of it and squish it around in your mouth. Continue this process for 15 to 20 minutes.

Brush with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste:

Baking soda has teeth whitening properties; that’s why it’s prevalent in toothpaste commercials. It helps in rubbing off stains from the tooth surface due to its mildly abrasive nature. Hydrogen peroxide, on the other hand, is a natural bleaching agent. It also helps in killing bacteria. People have been using hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria on wounds for many, many years now. 

What do you get if you could make a toothpaste of the two substances? A perfect tooth whitening solution! Take one tablespoon of baking soda and two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Mix both the contents, and you’ll end up with a paste. Use this paste to brush your teeth regularly. It’s not magic; you wouldn’t get super shiny teeth just after one session. Use this paste daily, and you’ll eventually start to see the difference. 

You can also make a mouthwash with the same ratio of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, plus some water. 

Both the substances are harmless, but if you’re feeling you have done something wrong, like using the wrong ingredients, see your dentist immediately.

Rub banana, orange, or lemon peels:

Just like oil pulling, this remedy also doesn’t have any scientific research supporting it. However, the people who gave it a shot are happy with the results. Plus, it doesn’t involve any harmful chemicals, so why not?

To perform this “trick,” take a banana, orange, or lemon peel and gently rub it on your teeth. Keep rubbing it for about 2 minutes, then thoroughly wash your mouth and brush your teeth.

The peels of these fruits contain citric acid, which theoretically helps in teeth whitening. If you’re having sensitivity issues, chances are your teeth enamel is weak or has worn off. In that case, it’s not recommended to use this remedy. If you have already tried and are having trouble with your teeth, visiting your dentist should be your immediate response.

Take a diet rich in fruits and vegetables:

Crunchy fruits and vegetables are known to rub off plaque from your teeth while you chew them. They are not a replacement for brushing your teeth, of course, but any remedy is an excellent remedy if it gives results as expected. Plus, fruits and vegetables are known to be very useful for your overall health, that’s a win-win for you.

Two of the fruits which have been claimed to whiten your teeth are pineapple and strawberry. An enzyme named “bromelain” found in pineapple effectively removes stains and is useful in overall tooth whitening. Strawberries, on the other hand, contain malic acid, which is known to remove discoloration on your teeth and make them appear whiter.

Go to the dentist:

If none of those mentioned above remedies seem to work for you and your teeth are continuously becoming more and more yellowish, it might be time to let a professional handle this, a dentist in this case, of course. Veneers or dental implants might be your choice instead of teeth with poor color and health. Veneers are fragile wafers of porcelain which are permanently mounted onto your teeth. Veneers mask your teeth and display an artificial color, shape, or positioning. Veneers are not actually a “teeth whitening” solution, but they can make your smile look brighter by masking an artificial layer on your teeth. If your teeth’s health and color don’t seem to be repairable, dental implants could be the way to go. Dental implants are metal posts that are meant to hold artificial teeth replacements on them. 

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