Surprising Natural Remedies For Yellowing Teeth

Before attempting expensive, annoying, teeth whitening products try an alternative route. With various botanical and mineral compounds you may be able to stop creeping stains while catching some already in place. Try one or more of these surprising natural remedies for yellowing teeth to bring those ivory whites back and keep them sparkling for years to come.

Fruit Peels

Rubbing your teeth with the inside of fruit peels from bananas, lemons or oranges has actually shown to help polish off potential and some stubborn yellowing stains. Researchers found that the compound d-limonene is responsible for the beneficial effects. This compound was added to toothpaste in a Chinese study published in the Journal of Dentistry (8/10) which concluded,

“A total of 408 subjects, 201 with smoking stains and 207 with tea stains, participated in the trial. 5% d-limonene combined with Perlite whitening formulation significantly reduced stain scores both for smoking stain removal and inhibition.”

Oil Pull with Coconut

Oil pulling is an ancient practice which claims to “pull” toxins from between the teeth and deep in the gums. You take a tablespoon of coconut oil and swish it around your mouth for five to fifteen minutes (longer is better). Then rinse and brush with toothpaste.

Researchers from the Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Kannur Dental College, Kannur, Kerala, India found that,

“A statistically significant decrease in the plaque and gingival indices was noticed from day 7 and the scores continued to decrease during the period of study…Oil pulling using coconut oil could be an effective adjuvant procedure in decreasing plaque formation and plaque induced gingivitis.”

Be sure not to swallow the coconut oil while swishing and always discard in a wastebasket as it can clog drains. Oil pull morning and evening.

Surprising Culprits

It may surprise you how one more of these factors may be contributing to your yellowing teeth.

• Red wine
• Blueberries
• Mouth trauma
• Family genetics
• Excessive fluoride use
• Smoking or chewing tobacco
• Poor dental care and oral hygiene
• Chronic dry mouth or lack of saliva
• A diet high in sugar and simple carbohydrates
• Coffee and tea (drinking through a straw may help)
• Side effects of certain medications and mouthwashes
• Age, as older adults are more likely to have yellow teeth

White and Bubbly

You probably know how baking soda has been added to many toothpastes as a whitening agent but did you ever think to add in hydrogen peroxide? Yup, that same stuff you might put on a cut and watch bubble up as it kills germs.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Dentistry in 2012 concluded that,

“The whitening dentifrice tested in this study is effective for removing extrinsic tooth stain and whitening teeth. While the results also suggest that this dentifrice may have stain-prevention activity that persists following cessation of product use.”

Make a wet paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and gently brush your gums and teeth with it. If you have a sore in your mouth it may sting a little but will act as an anti-bacterial as well.

Out of the BBQ

The charcoal in your barbecue has actually been formulated to be used to help remove teeth stains. It’s called activated charcoal and has been found to absorb stains and toxins from the mouth.

The Pharmaceutical Journal reported (7/17) that

“Charcoal toothpastes may be found to help remove external (extrinsic) staining on teeth without negative abrasive effect,…Charcoal toothpastes may be found to be most effective when used to delay the recurrence of surface staining on intact teeth following professional cleaning and polishing.”

Find activated charcoal at your local health food store and use carefully, it can get messy and weird as the black goes everywhere during brushing. 

Berry Good

Strawberries are an excellent yellow teeth fighter. The seeds in the skin act as a natural abrasive. Grind up three or four cleaned, cut, organic strawberries into a paste and gently brush. Rinse and brush away the residue after about a minute. Do this twice per day and yellowing should diminish or in some cases vanish altogether.

Stay on top of your smile by heeding some of these surprising natural remedies for yellowing teeth. The teeth whitening industry is big but hopefully you may not need to enter it if you can keep ahead of the curve. Also, try to use a soft toothbrush as the other levels can be damaging to your gums.