Shiny, white, healthy teeth definitely make us look younger. Why do teeth tend to look more yellow as we age? It can be caused simply by staining from the foods we eat and drink – like wine, coffee, and tea. Or, it can be caused by something more serious – the wearing away of our our enamel which allows our dentin (which is yellow) to show through. In this post, I will give you several ways to whiten teeth naturally.
Is It Possible To Rebuild Tooth Enamel?
Did you know that there is research showing it’s possible to stop tooth decay, rebuild tooth enamel, and even heal cavities naturally? If you’re interested in the details of this research, I highly recommend the book, “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Weston A. Price, DDS but I will give you a high level summary in this post.
Dr. Price traveled to several remote parts of the world. He found that the people had almost perfect smiles despite having no dental care whatsoever available to them. Unlike his American patients, the people in remote parts of the world didn’t have cavities, tooth decay, or even tooth crowding!
Dr. Price deduced that there must be something different about the diets of the people in these far away places. When he analyzed their diets, he found they got a lot more minerals, vitamin C, and B complex than Americans. In addition, they got at least ten times more vitamins A and D than Americans.
Diet To Rebuild Tooth Enamel
Step one is to check with your doctor to ensure you have enough of vitamins, A, B, C, and D from your diets. Next, you should do your best to eat a low sugar, whole foods diet that is rich in healthy fats. But Healthy Goods takes this a lot further and provides a fantastic list of dietary changes you should make if your tooth enamel has worn away and you want to rebuild it naturally.
I want to highlight one dietary change I think is essential to be addressed if you want to whiten teeth naturally by rebuilding your tooth enamel. Dr. Price found that a fat-soluble vitamin he called Activator X was a missing nutrient in our modern American diet. He felt that many of our diseases could be attributed to our lack of Activator X. He was able to heal cavities (rebuild enamel) and reduce plaque caused by bacteria by giving his patients butter oil (high in activator X) along with cod liver oil. Cod liver alone did not work as well.
So you are probably wondering what is Activator X? It is vitamin K2 in the MK-4 form which can be found in the milk of cows eating fast growing green grass. The product everyone swears by for Activator X is Green Pasture’s X-Factor Gold High Vitamin Butter Oil. I do not use this product because it contains milk and my daughter cannot tolerate milk. So, I looked for an alternative that we both can take.
According to Dr. Steven Lin, other food sources of K2 MK4 include:
- 2/3 oz of chicken, duck or goose liver pate
- 3-4 large pasture raised eggs
- 3-4 tablespoons of grass raised butter or ghee
- 6-12 oz serves chicken leg and thigh meat
- 2-3 slices of organic beef or lamb liver
- Beef mince
- Emu Oil
Dietary Changes I Made To Strengthen Tooth Enamel and Whiten Teeth Naturally
In order to get enough K2 MK4 in our diets, I now use ghee for most of my cooking. Ghee is butter with the milk protein removed. I think it tastes delicious and it is even safe for cooking at high heat. Make sure you look for a ghee that is organic from grass fed cows and comes in a glass jar. We also started taking Emu oil to increase our K2 MK4.
To make sure that we have the right mineral balance to support our teeth enamel, we take these homeopathic cell salts as well as liquid silica. According to Healthy Goods, “Silicon is the primary calcium management element and is responsible for making sure calcium is not stored in any locations other than bone. This benefits the health of the teeth.”
Another dietary change we made was to reduce our phytic acid consumption. Healthline gives a good overview of the top food sources of phytic acid. According to Ask the Dentist, “Phytic acid can be bad for teeth because it impairs the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.” Phytic acid can also interfere with digestion so you get a double benefit by reducing the amount you have per week. We reduced the amount of grains we eat or switched to “sprouted versions.” Sprouting breaks down the phytic acid. I also try my best to soak our nuts, seeds, and beans to reduce the phytic acid.
My Family’s Routine To Whiten Teeth Naturally
If your teeth are just yellow due to staining and not enamel loss, I will share with you what my family does to reduce plaque and keep our teeth white.
Step One – Oil Pulling
If you’ve never heard of it, oil pulling is kind of like using mouth wash but healthier. You put oil in your mouth and swish it around to absorb the toxins in your mouth. Then, you spit out the oil along with the toxins. Do not swallow it or you will be sending the toxins to your digestive system – not good! HELPFUL HINT: be sure to spit the oil in your trash, not your sink. Over time, the oil could harden and ruin your plumbing if you spit it in your sink!
You can use any healthy oil such as: coconut, sesame, sunflower, or olive oil. My family likes coconut oil the best. Make sure to get coconut oil that is organic, unrefined and comes in a glass jar.
Many people say you need to oil pull for 20 minutes to whiten teeth naturally. But who has that much time? Sometimes on the weekends, I will try to oil pull for a longer amount of time, but on a daily basis, I only do it for 3 minutes once a day. My husband, who has more plaque issues, does it for 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night.
I add a few things to make the coconut oil even more effective at improving oral hygiene and whitening teeth.
My Oil Pulling Recipe
- Fill a 8 oz glass mason jar 2/3 full with coconut oil.
- Add 5 packets of xylitol and stir (according to the California Dental Association, “Xylitol inhibits the growth of the bacteria that cause cavities.”)
- Put 3 teaspoons of baking soda in the mix for extra stain removing power (stir).
- Add 30 drops of clove essential oil safe for internal consumption to fight bacteria (stir).
- Put more coconut oil in the jar until it’s full and stir one more time.
- Store at room temperature. Do not refrigerate or the oil will harden and be a real pain to use.
Step Two – Charcoal Toothpaste
If you have major stains, like my husband, this charcoal toothpaste works really well to whiten teeth naturally. Charcoal has natural absorbing properties which is why it’s effective at absorbing stains.
Some dentists say that activated charcoal wears down tooth enamel if you use it every day for long periods of time. But for short term stain removal, I think it works great!
HELPFUL HINT: Please make sure to brush your tongue really well. It should be a rosy pink color if you’ve cleaned all the bacteria off of it. WARNING: this stuff turns your teeth black while you’re brushing with it and it can be messy. If you have a kid that doesn’t rinse the sink well after brushing (like I do), then It can stain your sink.
Step Three – Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide
In the morning, I do 3 minutes of oil pulling and then brush my teeth. But at night, I brush my teeth and then do 3 minutes of swishing with food grade hydrogen peroxide. I do spit the hydrogen peroxide in my sink because it cleans it on the way down the drain!
The hydrogen peroxide we use has a 3% concentration of hydrogen peroxide. It does a good job of whitening our teeth. They do make even stronger concentrations (up to 12%) for more severe stains, but I have not tried them. I wish I could find food grade hydrogen peroxide in a glass bottle, but so far I’ve been unable to find that. Let me know if you have – PLEASE!
Other Random Thoughts on Whitening Teeth Naturally
You may have heard that whitening your teeth with turmeric powder is really effective. It may be, but I tried this and it stained my face yellow and made me look ridiculous! It was not for me. I may consider adding turmeric essential oil to my coconut oil recipe, however, I think it would ruin the taste and make my daughter less cooperative.
Lemon is another natural teeth whitener. I sip on lemon water all day long which is helpful for keeping my teeth white and counteracting the effects of the tea I drink in the morning.
Whenever I drink coffee or tea, I try to remember to drink it with a straw so that it bypasses my teeth and avoids staining them.
Enjoy your white, healthy teeth!
Note: For compliance reasons, I am not able to tell you on this blog which essential oil products I use or link you to them so that you can read about them for yourself. But if you want more information, please comment on this post and I am happy to tell you more about the oils I use and why.
No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition. Please consult a qualified health care professional for medical advice.