I used to be a smoker and drink wine, coffee, tea, and grape juice. Although I quit smoking a few years back and rarely drink a glass of wine, I still frequently enjoy coffee, tea, and grape juice.  These are all some of the worst things for staining or yellowing teeth. There are many products on the market that offer teeth whitening (Crest White Strips, Rembrandt, etc.).  I have never paid for professional whitening, but over the course of my adult life I have spent countless dollars on the over the counter products to keep my teeth white and counteract the staining effect of some of my favorite things. Although over the counter, they can still get quite expensive. On top of the price, none of them are really enjoyable to apply or use. Some are abrasive gritty toothpastes, bleaching gels and plastic trays, plastic whitening strips, and brushing a liquid bleach onto the teeth.

About 4 or 5 years ago, a friend emailed me an article about various home remedies one of which was using hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash. If I still had it I would share it, but that has been many moons ago. After that email I looked at some of the products I had been using and found that hydrogen peroxide was a key ingredient in them. The mouth rinse which is the last step in the multi-step system that Rembrandt has was pure hydrogen peroxide. So, I read the Hydrogen peroxide bottle I had at home (for wound antiseptic cleansing) and found it also said right on the bottle it could be used as an “oral rinse”. The bottle I currently have in the medicine cabinet says “oral debriding agent”.

So, after brushing my teeth I gave it a try. I filled the very tiny cap from the bottle with peroxide and swished it in my mouth for about 30 seconds. There is virtually no taste at all. It foamed or bubbled quite a bit. I did not look like I had rabies, but it was quite a reaction. The natural oxidizing of hydrogen peroxide causes it to bubble when it reacts. The more there is to react with the more it bubbles. After spitting it out, I then rinsed with water.

 

With just one use I could not tell much of a difference in the color of my teeth. However, my mouth felt so clean. I liked it better than any alcohol based mouth wash. It is getting in all of those little nooks and crannies and killing germs. My breath did not have a minty taste and smell like with scope of course. It was simply a clean feeling with no taste or smell.

After that I began rinsing with it every morning after brushing my teeth for 30 secs to a minute while I’m getting ready. After the initial use the large amount of bubbling almost ceased. It bubbles ever so slightly, but it is hardly noticeable. The bubbling action is what performs the “debriding” of any rogue debris missed from brushing and flossing. I would not advise using this as a replacement for flossing. I simply use it instead of my daily scope and I no longer need to regular bleach my teeth. I only quit smoking a couple of years ago and found the hydrogen peroxide really kept my teeth white as a smoker.

I’ve looked all over the internet and there are several sites and forums of people saying you shouldn’t do it daily, but I have been for 4 or 5 years and it works wonderfully. I’ve also found forums where people said they have done it for 20 and 30 years. My dentist and dental hygienist do not see a problem with it either.

I like using something that does have a lot of extra chemical ingredients like the other teeth whiteners and every day mouth washes that you get in stores. And the best part is a 16 oz bottle only costs $.60 at Dollar General and Walmart and it last a long time!

Now, I am nervous about posting this photo, but figured people would want to see the results for themselves. Not only are my teeth nice and white, my gums are pink and healthy as well!