At Home Teeth Whitening – Does Lemon Juice Work?

Many people desire a whiter smile. Yet, these people also want pearly white teeth without the hassle, time, and cost of dental visits or expensive over-the-counter kits and products. While these dental products are designed specifically for your teeth, there are some natural home remedies that will whiten your teeth with the same results as well. Lemon juice is one home ingredient that is known for its tooth enamel whitening ability.

It is a very acidic liquid. Because of the acid content in the juice, lemon juice is effective at getting your teeth whiter. However, the brighter and whiter teeth are displayed because the acid level of the juice makes your teeth lose calcium. Teeth need calcium to be strong and healthy; therefore caution should be taken when performing lemon juice whitening techniques too often or over long periods of time. Occasional applications of lemon juice for teeth whitening purposes are safe and will show the desired results.

There are different methods for applying it to teeth for whitening purposes. Some people prefer to brush their teeth by using straight lemon juice, fresh or bottled, on their toothbrush. Others believe that rubbing a lemon peel across their teeth is the best whitening method. However, adding some other ingredients to the juice often provides results in the safest manner for your teeth. Two of the most popular mixture ingredients are baking soda and table salt.

Before applying the mixture, you should brush and floss your teeth to ensure that they are clean. Apply a baking soda and one drop of lemon juice mixture to your toothbrush. Brush your teeth once again. This time you will use the  mixture rather than toothpaste. Complete the baking soda and lemon brushing for a second time on your teeth. Rinse your teeth well with water. For the final brushing, use a fluoride enhanced toothpaste. Your teeth will appear cleaner and whiter.

The same technique can be applied to your teeth by using table salt with the juice rather than baking soda. However, many people find that the table salt irritates sensitive gums. If your gums become sore after this technique, the salt is the calporate. It may be beneficial to rinse well with water during the brushing process to prevent the salt from remaining in one area of the mouth too long.

Using lemon juice, straight from the lemon or from a bottle, can be very effective for whitening the teeth. The two key factors to safely using the acid to make your teeth whiter and brighter are controlling how often you perform the whitening treatment and rinsing well after using the treatment. Never perform the juice or the juice mixture whitening technique, or other teeth whitening techniques for that matter, more often than every other day. Once a week will show results. Also, always rinse your mouth well and brush with toothpaste after applying lemon juice to your teeth.