Tooth-Whitening That’s Safe For Your Teeth?

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

No question/request too big or small 😎

❝Is there any way of whitening teeth that works and isn’t harming the teeth or gums?❞

The short answer is “yes”!

A slightly longer answer “yes, but…”

First, let’s pro/con the most common options:

Professional in-office whitening:

• pros: fastest results, most noticeable whitening, generally safest
• cons: most expensive option, can cause temporary tooth sensitivity (because they’re still usually using peroxides etc, just, more carefully than you likely can)

Dentist-prescribed take-home kits:

• pros: strong results, longer-lasting than over-the-counter options
• cons: slower than in-office treatment, requires consistent use, increased risk of sensitivity, almost certainly will harm gums

Over-the-counter whitening kits:

• pros: cheaper than dentist options, moderate effectiveness, more convenient than prescriptions or in-office treatments
• cons: weaker results, potential for poor fit and gum irritation, inconsistent outcomes, quite a fuss to have to do it

Whitening pens / paint-on gels:

• pros: portable, convenient for touch-ups, low cost
• cons: very limited effectiveness, uneven coverage, short contact time reduces results, likely to harm gums

Whitening toothpaste:

• pros: cheapest option, easy to incorporate into routine, helps remove surface stains
• cons: minimal actual whitening (mostly surface-level), doesn’t change tooth color deeply

Home remedies (baking soda, charcoal, lemon, etc):

• pros: low cost, very accessible
• cons: little to no proven whitening effect, anything acidic will damage the enamel (you are putting an acid on a base, that’s not going to go well!), others are likely to inflame the gums and/or erode the enamel by indiscriminate abrasive action

Whitening mouthwash:

• pros: easy to use, adds minor stain prevention
• cons: very weak effect due to short contact time, mainly maintenance rather than active whitening

Now let’s narrow those down

Let’s throw out the home remedies, the pens/gels, and the OTC kits.

This brings us down to:

• Professional treatments / treatments prescribed by your dentist
• Whitening toothpaste (not very effective, but unlike most things on the list, not harmful)
• Whitening mouthwash (might as well)

There are also options that aren’t so common, such as: Professional-Style Dental Cleaning At Home?, which methods are safe and effective if and only if you do them correctly. In short, if you’re not confident scraping plaque off your teeth, for example, don’t do it. If any any doubt whatsoever, leave those medieval-looking implements aside, and see your dentist instead.

Hollywood’s most “perfect” whites would be nothing without the gums holding them in place. So, it may be a good idea to set aside the cosmetic whitening products that often harm gums (anything containing bleach / hydrogen peroxide, is generally a bad idea), and instead focus on your gums.

As for avoiding gum disease (periodontitis)?

❝In conclusion, periodontitis might enhance the association of biological aging with all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older adults.

Hence, maintaining and enhancing periodontal health is expected to become an intervention to slow aging and extend life span.❞

Source: Does Periodontitis Affect the Association of Biological Aging with Mortality?

To look after the whole, you have to take care of the parts. So, with this in mind:

• If You Have Gum Disease… Do This!
• How To Regrow Receding Gums
• Make Your Saliva Better For Your Teeth

Restore your enamel

“When it’s gone, it’s gone” is the common belief when it comes to tooth enamel. Nevertheless, there are such things as hydroxyapatite toothpaste which is not only as pathogen-killing as fluoride, but also has the added bonus of being based on one of the main minerals our teeth are made of (hydroxyapatite is a calcium phosphate compound), so it does aid in rebuilding,

There are pros and cons to both, by the way: Fluoride Toothpaste vs Non-Fluoride Toothpaste – Which is Healthier? ← with interesting numbers on the toxicity of each!

In that comparison (we compared fluoride to hydroxyapatite) we picked the fluoride on the basis of “they both do the job equally well, and they’re both very safe, but technically everything has a toxicity level, and fluoride’s is the relatively safest of these two very safe products”.

However, that’s assuming for the general job of “keeping teeth healthy”. If your teeth need remineralizing, hydroxyapatite will better promote that.

For more details, see: Tooth Remineralization: How To Heal Your Teeth Naturally

Want to learn more?

You might also like to read our own three-part series on dental health:

• Toothpastes & Mouthwashes: Which Help And Which Harm?
• Flossing Without Flossing?
• Less Common Oral Hygiene Options ← we recommend the miswak! Not only does it clean the teeth as well as or better than traditional brushing, but also it changes the composition of saliva to improve the oral microbiome, effectively turning your saliva into a biological mouthwash that kills unwanted microbes and is comfortable for the ones that should be there.

Take care!