Tips About Home Teeth Whitening Techniques
Home teeth whitening products have become a major industry in today’s oral healthcare market. If you consider how much money is spent on whitening chewing gum alone, then you are looking at an easy $17 million dollars for one brand. Now add in the whitening toothpastes, the whitening strips, the brushed on bleaching gels and you will quickly realize how huge an industry it has become. However, it was not always this way. Oral care had some rather humble beginnings that you may not know about. Knowing the past is a great way to truly appreciate our modern conveniences.
Home teeth whitening would not be where it is today if not for the advent of the toothbrush. Of course, you would not recognize one of these first teeth cleaning implements as a tooth brush. The first one was actually a twig with one end frayed to scrape the tooth. Lords, Ladies, Kings, Queens and peasants alike, all utilized a piece of yard debris as a way to rid their mouth of excess food and buildup. It was not until centuries later that a toothbrush was fashioned out of wood with boar bristles attached. There is nothing quite like the taste of pig hair first thing in the morning!
Whiter teeth have always been fashionable. Early dentists, a.k.a the nearby barber, would file the tooth surface down before applying a solution of Nitric Acid. The blinding white teeth came with a steep price. This combination is devastating to enamel and the Dandy or Lady found themselves without teeth before long, due to decay. A tooth is only as good as the protection surrounding it.
Think about that fresh minty taste of your toothpaste. Most whitening toothpastes now contain baking soda. It is still a common practice to brush the teeth with baking soda straight out of the Arm & Hammer box. If you do not want that baking soda taste, then you may want to stick with toothpaste. At least the toothpaste no longer contains urine, a common ingredient in the 1800’s!
Home teeth whitening begins with proper tooth care. You do want to brush each day and floss regularly. Regular check-ups at the dentist can help keep your teeth healthy and your gums in great shape. You do not want to brush your teeth with pure bleach. You may also want to skip tobacco products, red wine and drinks such as tea, coffee or soda. All of those stain the enamel over time. If whiter teeth seem like a hassle, then consider how far people had to go in the past to have sparkling white teeth.