Most people have no problem brushing their teeth with toothpaste, but there are all kinds of DIY options out there. One of the most popular is baking soda.
Can you brush your teeth with baking soda? Is baking soda safe for teeth? Does baking soda whiten teeth?
Beavers and Broomfield Family Dentistry can give you these answers and more about baking soda on teeth. There are pros and cons to brushing with baking soda. Here are some facts you should know about using baking soda as toothpaste.
Is It Safe to Brush Teeth With Baking Soda?
Not all of the do-it-yourself toothpaste alternatives are good for your teeth. For example, charcoal is said to have great whitening powers, making people think it’s good to brush with daily. While it can whiten teeth, it’s considered too abrasive for teeth.
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, can be abrasive, too, but far less abrasive than charcoal toothpaste. It can also whiten teeth, though not as much as people think. It is safe to use baking soda occasionally, but eventually, the abrasiveness combined with a lack of fluoride can wear down tooth enamel and make teeth more vulnerable to tooth decay.
Benefits of Brushing Teeth With Baking Soda
What are the benefits of baking soda on teeth as a toothpaste? There are quite a few.
- Baking soda is fairly inexpensive. A small box of baking soda can make a lot of toothpaste and will last a long time.
- Baking soda has antibiotic properties. Its antimicrobials can help destroy bacteria in your mouth, reducing your chances of tooth decay.
- Baking soda is gentle on mouth sores. Baking soda won’t irritate mouth sores, such as canker sores or mouth ulcers caused by cancer treatments.
- Baking soda balances your mouth’s Ph levels. It can reduce the acidity in your mouth, leading to better breath and less tooth decay.
- Baking soda can whiten teeth. It has been proven to reduce stains on teeth over time, though slower than whitening toothpaste, home whitening kits, or professional teeth whitening services.
Is Baking Soda Bad For Your Teeth?
Baking soda has many benefits, but you should consider a few drawbacks before switching from traditional fluoride toothpaste.
- Baking soda lacks fluoride. Most toothpaste adds fluoride to remineralize enamel, strengthening it and protecting teeth from plaque and bacteria that cause tooth decay. Baking soda has no fluoride, which leaves teeth more vulnerable.
- Baking soda can be abrasive. Though it’s less abrasive than charcoal and other substances, it does have a gritty texture that works as a mild abrasive and can wear down tooth enamel over time.
- Baking soda doesn’t freshen breath as well as toothpaste. Though it can reduce pH levels and bacteria that cause bad breath, it lacks the mint and other flavors that leave your mouth feeling fresh for hours after brushing.
Baking Soda Teeth Whitening Dangers
Is there any danger to using baking soda to whiten teeth? While not necessarily dangerous, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Baking soda can remove stains from your teeth, but it does it slowly, mainly from the tooth’s surface. Deep stains will be harder to remove and probably will need professional tooth whitening to be effective.
It’s OK to use baking soda to whiten your teeth if you don’t have braces or other devices on your teeth. Baking soda will not be able to penetrate behind the bonding agent that holds the braces brackets to your teeth.
This means that by the time your braces come off, the teeth around them could be whiter than underneath them, and you could be left with dark spots in the middle of every tooth.
So you can use baking soda to whiten your teeth, but do it carefully.
How to Make Baking Soda Toothpaste
Is it OK to brush your teeth with baking soda? Overall, yes, but we recommend you do it occasionally and use fluoride toothpaste the rest of the time.
How do you make baking soda toothpaste? All you need is baking soda mixed with warm water. A teaspoon of baking soda and water will make enough paste to brush your teeth thoroughly. Mix equal parts in a small bowl or container.
Dip your toothbrush in and brush using the paste. You want to hit the surface of every tooth and spend 1-2 minutes brushing your teeth and gums.
Once you’re finished, spit out the excess paste and rinse your mouth. Without a good rinse, your teeth may feel gritty.
Some recipes call for adding lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or other acids to increase the whitening power. While this may whiten your teeth slightly, the acid will eat away at your enamel. Because the baking soda toothpaste lacks fluoride, it leaves your teeth more vulnerable to acid decay.
Better Brushing in Fayetteville, AR
Baking soda toothpaste is a good alternative to regular toothpaste, but it shouldn’t be a permanent substitute without an alternative source of fluoride. We can make recommendations that will keep your teeth healthy and strong.
Schedule an appointment at Beavers and Broomfield Family Dentistry for better teeth cleaning in Fayetteville, AR. We want to do all we can to help you have and keep a healthy smile!
