Brushing Your
Teeth with
Baking Soda:
Is it Safe or
Not?
For whitening your teeth, you can use baking soda. If
you rub it on your teeth then it will remove the stains
from these because of its abrasive nature. You can
easily find it in most of the homes in the form of a fine
powder or small crystals. Its other name is sodium
bicarbonate. Now a question arises: is it safe to use
baking soda to brush your teeth? I will tell you in
detail.
Its advantages
(i)It helps in reducing gingivitis and plaque –
Cavities and gingivitis can occur if on the tooth’s
surface the bacteria colonies develop. These colonies
are known as biofilms. For disrupting that biofilm use a
toothpaste containing baking soda and do brushing.
The count of bacteria will get reduced with this.
(ii)It helps in whitening your teeth –
For whitening the smile it removes the tooth stains.
So, many commercial toothpastes use this as a popular
ingredient. Research suggests that it removes the
tooth stains because of its mild abrasive nature.
(iii)This option is fluoride-free –
For a child whose age is below 6 years it can be toxic
to use so much fluoride. The problems of heart,
kidney, diarrhea, vomiting and pain can occur because
of fluoride toxicity. No fluoride is present in baking
soda. So, if baking soda is present in your toothpaste
then people will prefer it.
(iv)It is inexpensive –
In a big-box retailer, grocery store or drugstore you can
easily find it. For one ounce it costs 52 cents only.
Its disadvantages
(i)Its texture and taste are unappealing –
It doesn’t have a very good taste. When you use it
then you will feel that your mouth contains sand.
(ii)It whitens the teeth but not 100 % -
It is basically a mild abrasive. Like some other
products, an effective removal of tooth stains is not
possible with this.
To whiten my teeth, I will visit the dental hospital near
me. It will provide me with very good treatment.