Home tooth whitening..?

wilykit

hi, has anybody ever tried whitening their teeth using bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice?

Toothsmith

Yes - people have tried whitening their teeth using lemon juice.

Then they hae had to pay thousands of pounds for corrective dental treatment because the citric acid of the lemons has completely erroded their enamel away.

DO NOT DO THIS!

wilykit

If it's only done once? What about people who eat lemons?!?!

welshdent

If its only done once then it wont work. there is no bleaching effect of either chemical you ask about. Lemon Juice is very acidic and as such will have an erosive effect not a whitening effect. Bicarb lifts stains and is also abraisive (more tooth tissue loss) but does not in itself whiten. People that eat lemons get tooth erosion.

http://www.cosmetic--dentist.com/bad_teeth_acid_erosion.html

wilykit

Ah right I see, I know a few people that have done it and I was going to do it myself as it worked for them

welshdent

You cant see the damage they have done I am not a fan of any home system that is not provided under the direction of a dentist. You do not really know what you are using and you do not know if you are a) suitable b) free of dental problems c) causing problems. At the end of the day if something goes wrong who are you going to get to fix it?

jenniewb

welshdent wrote: »

You cant see the damage they have done I am not a fan of any home system that is not provided under the direction of a dentist. You do not really know what you are using and you do not know if you are a) suitable b) free of dental problems c) causing problems. At the end of the day if something goes wrong who are you going to get to fix it?

Agree- and at what cost?!

I used to have anorexia and bulimia (still recovering in parts) I still eat a lot of fruit though a much reduced percentage of my overall diet is now fruit (I am mastering the art of 'variation!') I still eat more then my 5-A-DAY and love grapefruits. Whole.

Due to the ongoing years of eating like this and added to that the bulimia, my tooth enamel is basicly ruined. I can assure you my teeth are not white! I guess I didn't opt for bicarb but as far as staining foods? I never really ate them anyway, but its safe to say acidic foods are not a good thing to bother your teeth with.

In addition to the way my teeth look (eroded in places, fillings...) I have a lot of pain issues. The acid in the fruits I eat have caused my teeth to be sensitive. I can't eat a whole load of food because its too painful. Not so hard for me as most of it contains calories which still freak me out a bit but to the general public I could see this being a problem. (Ice cream, hot coffee, very sugary foods such as cakes, treacle, chocolate, sweets...). I do use the pronamel toothpaste which has helped quite a lot (I can now drink hot green tea without any sugar in and its pain free- and I can eat oranges!! but can't do any of the other stuff).

I do have additional receeding gum problems, have had before the eating problems but they were nothing compared to the mess my eating disorder (eating too much fruit and mainly only fruit) made of my teeth. Don't do it, its not worth it!

MizeDentist

You have to be careful so as not to destroy the enamel coating on your teeth.

--
Dentist Raleigh NC

glowgirl_2

Not a home whitening treatment technically but a mouthwash of hydrogen peroxide 3% used twice a day has whitened my teeth beautifully and sorted out my gum problem and my dentist has approved it, very :money:at just 85p per bottle:)

wilykit

Thanks for the replies I have fairly sensitive teeth anyway and I don't think I will be trying the DIY route!!!

glowgirl - where do you get it from and what brand is it?

Lucy1973

I've been using crest whitestrips,bought on eBay. Been using them for a couple of years on and off. They are amazing but do leave gums a little sensitive. My dentist is aware that I use them and has noticed no problems with my teeth thru using them.:)