Your dentist might advise you to stay away from too many cookies, cakes, and even breads. These high sugar/high carbohydrate edible treats can contribute to a battle with tooth decay. However, there is one ingredient in most baked goods that can actually add a small amount of shine to a dull, yellow, stained smile: baking soda. You’ve probably seen, or even tried toothpaste infused with baking soda in your local grocery or drugstore. Your Vernon Hills dentist, Dr. Brent A. Engelberg, will explain how applying baking soda directly to teeth can actually act as a homemade solution to deal with minor stains on teeth, or maintain professional teeth whitening.
All About Baking Soda
Sodium bicarbonate, AKA baking soda, is most known as a main ingredient in most baked good recipes. Baking soda melds with acid-containing ingredients that create gas bubbles to make certain recipes rise to fluffy perfection. Without this chemical reaction, your cookies would look more like little pancakes, and your cakes would sink down in the middle while they were baking.
Baking soda is extremely versatile, beyond its most well-known use of leavening baked goods. Some of the other uses include: bug bite relief, sunburn soothing, gentle heartburn medication, odor absorber, and flower preservative.
Teeth Whitening Powers of Baking Soda
When you mix sodium bicarbonate with water, the alkaline substance becomes a mild abrasive. If you brush your teeth with this mixture, the baking soda can penetrate tooth enamel, and break stains on your teeth from dark colored foods and beverages like blueberries, coffee, and red wine. This is not going to be a miraculous change in your teeth, but you may see some mild whitening and brightening if you apply this method to your teeth. It can be a great supplement in between professional whitening treatments with your dentist. Just don’t overdo it. Because of the abrasive qualities of baking soda, you should use it sparingly, and no more than once a week, to ensure that there is no tooth enamel damage. When in doubt, consult your dentist.
Consult Your Vernon Hills Cosmetic Dentist
For more extreme whitening results, schedule a consultation with Dr. Engelberg to find out about professional whitening treatment options. You can reach our 60061 dentist office at 847-259-8030. We are happy to serve patients in Northbrook, Deerfield, Highland Park, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Vernon Hills, Lincolnshire, Libertyville, Skokie, Evanston, Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows, Northwest Chicago Suburbs, and Northern Chicago Suburbs.
