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Do Strawberries Make Your Teeth Whiter?

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Earlier, lemons were advocated as natural tooth-whitening substance. However, studies later found that the increased levels of citric acid present in the lemons made the lemon juice sufficiently acidic to cause teeth enamel erosion. On doing a quick search online, one can even come across millions of websites which claim that a mixture of strawberries and baking soda is an effective way of getting whiter teeth. They advise people to mash up a ripe strawberry, dip their toothbrush in it, and then brush their teeth with it. They are asked to then rinse their teeth thoroughly afterwards, using a solution of warm water, which a pinch of bicarbonate of soda added in it, to reduce acidity in the mouth. But do strawberries indeed make your teeth whiter? Read on to know.

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Do Strawberries Make Your Teeth Whiter?
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Strawberries & Teeth Whitening

Although, the strawberry tooth whitening method seems to be a simple and easy way of improving your smile, however, the fact is that it doesn’t do very much to whiten the teeth. When the teeth whitening method using strawberries was put to test in the year 2015, the results were contrary to the common belief. In the study, the subjects were made to rub a mixture of strawberries that were crushed and baking soda over 20 teeth that were extracted, thrice a day, for 10 days. The strawberry-baking soda mixture was allowed to sit on the teeth for 5 minutes, before being brushed away. During this study, it was found that the strawberry mixture helped in removing plaque and debris from the surface of the teeth resulting in an illusion of a whiter smile, but it actually did not do any bleaching of the teeth. Depending on their ripeness and storage conditions, strawberries contain a high concentration of citric acid, with small amounts of malic acid too. So, brushing the teeth with a the highly acidic strawberry and baking-soda mixture, which had been touted as an easy, natural, cheap and DIY method of brightening the teeth, actually doesn’t whiten the teeth, but weakens them on the contrary.

So do strawberries make your teeth whiter? The answer is NO. Strawberries help in cleaning your teeth, which gives the illusion of whiter teeth, but they do not actually make the teeth any whiter. In fact, following the above method of baking soda and strawberries to whiten your teeth can actually prove to be harmful in the long run. So better stay away from this method of teeth whitening.

Other Natural Ways of Teeth Whitening

A simple way of whitening and protecting the teeth is to chew a small cube of cheese after a meal. The milk protein called casein and whey protein in cheese helps to reduce the loss of minerals from the tooth enamel. Chewing cheese also helps in stimulating saliva flow which neutralises the harmful acids that can cause dental decay or erosion of the teeth enamel. Chewing sugar-free gum, which contains the sweetener xylitol, is also a simple way of keeping the teeth healthy. Research has shown that chewing gum sweetened with xylitol can help in reducing acidity response to carbohydrates. It also inhibits the growth of decay-causing bacteria, and decreases the total amount of plaque on teeth. Drinking milky tea can prove helpful in protecting the teeth and keeping them strong. Milk is an excellent source of calcium, while tea is one of the best natural sources of fluoride that is known for preventing mineral loss from the teeth. Further, it is essential to limit the consumption of sugary beverages for keeping the teeth sparkling white and healthy. And even when having them, people should use a straw for the purpose of drinking these beverages.

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Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:March 26, 2019

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