Originally published August 17 2005
Simple tips to get whiter teeth
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
It is not only poor hygiene or smoking that can cause your teeth to be yellow; it is also caused by brushing too hard and eating and drinking acidic foods that wash away the outer layers of your enamel.
With all of the bleaching products available from your dentist, drug store, and TV infomercials, it's getting easier all the time to have teeth like the movie stars.
There are many more foods that can stain your teeth, but the point is, we're talking about stain here -- pigments in the enamel that can be chemically "bleached".
Tooth whitening products do a great job of removing stain and can even help people whose natural tooth color is on the grey or yellow side.
But here's where whitening won't help, or not nearly as much: if your tooth enamel is thin.
You see, the thinner the enamel on your teeth gets, the more the layer underneath it starts to show through it.
That second layer, called dentin, is typically yellow in color -- even brownish in some cases.
Picture the worst case scenario: you're a smoker with a compulsion towards keeping your teeth white and your breath fresh.
So, you buy yourself the hardest bristle brush you can find, and stock up on an abrasive toothpaste formulated for smokers.
Every chance you get, you're running to the bathroom to scrub that nicotine stain and odor away, and you figure the harder you scrub, the better!
And carbonated drinks (soft drinks are high in phosphoric acid) can be the worst, because of our tendency to sip or "nurse" them.
Studies have also shown that unless you're a professional athlete or marathoner, there's very little advantage to drinking sports drinks over plain water.
Hard and medium brushes are sold because people still buy them, not because dentists recommend them!
* If you want whiter teeth, go for a toothpaste with whitening ingredients, but not with abrasives.
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