White teeth look good—glowing pearly whites are a sign of health, a sign of prosperity (like it or not: bright white teeth hit the subconscious “wealth” button), and they upgrade your confidence something wicked.
Everyone wants whiter teeth. But not everyone can afford the expensive treatments.
Sure, there’s those weird paper-like strips you can stick on at home. Leave them on 30mins nightly while you grin like a zombie and your mouth dries out like a desert.
Or, you can follow Pinterest’s advice and mix up an enamel-destroying concoction of lemon juice, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. Because apparently scrubbing off enamel also scrubs off stains… (don’t do it).
By the way: in the interest of experimentation, I tried the above.
It was awkward trying to squeeze lemon juice perfectly into the little pile of baking soda I had in a bowl. Adding the hydrogen peroxide just made it extra runny, and it was almost impossible to actually get it on the toothbrush.
Yikes, so abrasive. Admittedly it did shine my teeth a little… but it also bleached my gums. Thankfully this was temporarily—but it’s not a good look.
So what are we tooth-owning humans to do??
How to Whiten Teeth the Right Way
Allow me to detail a simple, safe, and effective method to whiten your teeth at home.
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Supplies for your at-home teeth whitening
- A soft, cheap toothbrush. One with a smallish head is easier. You’ll be using it to “polish” your teeth rather than any heavy cleaning, so there’s no need to be fussy about special features.
- Colgate Optic White Toothpaste (or similar, but this one is tested and true)
Hmm, not very exciting so far right? But here’s the trick in using these two basic things:
The Method:
- Do this in the morning. I use my other toothpaste (Sensitive stuff…) and electric brush at night. Once a day for this method is enough.
- First, brush your teeth normally with the toothpaste. Concentrate on brushing the front of your teeth since this is where you want to see the color difference.
- Then leave the paste on for a minute or two.
- Think of it like mouthwash but you don’t have to swish.
- In other words: instead of the usual brush and rinse routine, you are leaving the paste on your teeth to work its magic.
- Optic White contains hydrogen peroxide (in a safe amount), which works over time
- While waiting you can brush your hair, put on your socks, or pat the dog
- Then brush gently again with a polishing motion. Concentrate on your teeth, be gentle on your gums,
- Rinse. Voila!
You might notice a difference right away, and you will certainly notice a difference in whiteness after a week or two.
Who knew it could be so easy to upgrade your pearly whites? Sometimes it really is the simple things…
There is no need to spend time squeezing lemons, swishing coconut oil for 30mins (yuck), or painting your teeth with what looks like a whiteout pen.
Just use actual whitening toothpaste. Tweaked a little.
The other nice thing about this routine is that you already brush your teeth in the morning! By simply changing the way you do it, slightly, you’ll keep it up. So your teeth get whiter and stay whiter. No need to take part in dramatic teeth-whitening emergencies, you’ll be ready to dazzle daily.
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