There’s no denying the value of a great smile in American society. Our smiles act as a marker of health, personality, confidence, and even our economic standing. If your teeth are crooked or stained, this can make life difficult. You may find yourself struggling to hide your teeth when you talk and holding back laughter to prevent exposing the state of your smile. You may desperately want to know how to remove stains from your teeth.
However, you don’t have to live with the fear of people judging you for your teeth. You can take steps at home to improve their overall appearance and range of procedures that can be done to drastically change your smile for the better. Let’s start with what you can do at home with just a little bit of dedication.
Make Your Dental Hygiene Routine Regular
Even if you haven’t taken great care of your teeth until this point, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s no point in establishing a solid routine. By regularly removing plaque and reducing gum inflammation, you’ll reduce the color contrast between your gums and teeth. This alone will give the illusion that you have a whiter smile. To achieve this goal, make sure you are brushing twice a day and flossing once a day. Rinsing with mouth wash twice a day can help as well.
Add in a Little Baking Soda
If you’ve ever used baking soda on a burnt pan, you know it has some incredible qualities. One of those qualities is its gently abrasive nature. While it’s excellent for removing plaque and tooth stains, baking soda isn’t abrasive enough to harm the enamel protecting your teeth from harm. To use baking soda in your dental hygiene routine, simply dampen your toothbrush and gently tap it into a small pile of baking soda. You can also make a paste of one teaspoon baking soda and two teaspoons of water. You won’t wake up with a dazzling smile, but you’ll notice the difference after a few weeks.
Try Oil Pulling
The evidence regarding oil pulling is mixed, but it is a technique that many people swear by. Coconut oil is a very popular option, given its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. However, olive oil, sesame seed oil, and avocado oil are sometimes used instead. To practice oil pulling, you will need to take about a tablespoon of your chosen oil and swish it around your mouth for 15-20 minutes. Make sure you emphasize each region of your mouth so that the oil comes into contact with every possible surface. Then spit and rinse out your mouth. As with baking soda, you are likely to see results over a matter of weeks.
Asking for Professional Help
The techniques listed above will help to gradually improve the state of your teeth. But they cannot return them to looking as though they have been properly taken care of your whole life. You can remove stains from your teeth, but only to a degree. To give the appearance of truly perfect teeth, you should consider dental caps or veneers. At Valley Alder Family Dentistry, your dentist will help you determine whether caps or veneers are better suited to your unique situation based on your teeth’ current state.
If their less than ideal appearance is purely cosmetic with no serious damage, then veneers are a great option for giving you the smile you always wanted. However, if there are teeth that are fractured or severely decayed, then caps (sometimes called crowns) are usually a better choice for maintaining the health and appearance of your smile for a prolonged period.
