Can Natural Teeth Whiteners be Effective?
When you’re wondering if natural teeth whitening agents can be as effective as the more commercial products that are out there, perhaps you’re asking the wrong question. It’s possible that the question shouldn’t involve a comparison of the two types of whitening methods at all. The real question might actually be whether any product whatsoever can claim that it whitens teeth.
The reason that some skepticism might be in order is that the natural color of the enamel on most people’s teeth isn’t even white to start with. The usual color is at best, a sort of off white, but usually ranges somewhere between yellowish and grayish white. This should be an immediate eyebrow raiser, prompting you to wonder how a tooth that never was naturally white to begin with could be made white, without somehow painting the color on from the outside.
One of the reasons for the natural variation in the color of the enamel is that it’s made of minerals, with some water and organic material thrown into the mix. Some of the mineral composition of the tooth enamel is determined by foods you eat that help create the minerals in your saliva. These are absorbed by the tooth and help build it up and strengthen it.
But other minerals come from outside the tooth, coming into direct contact with it as you eat and drink. This is why dentists often give external fluoride or cleaning treatments by using “teeth painting” methods, or putting solutions in little trays that people have to clamp around their teeth for several minutes. It’s also why people living in areas where the water is mineral rich often have very hard teeth. The enamel doesn’t just absorb minerals externally from the saliva, but it also takes them straight from whatever you put into your mouth. This means that it’s largely your own lifetime environment and diet that have determined the color of your teeth, and you may not be able to undo those effects.
Another element that determines tooth color is the fact that tooth enamel is semi-translucent. This means that you can partly see through it, so that much of its color is actually determined by what’s underneath. That material is called dentin, and in many cases, it tends to be yellowish in color. So you could have perfectly clean and clear enamel that still looks rather yellow, because of the underlying material that supports it, whose color is coming through.
Does this mean that it’s impossible to get teeth any whiter if they have yellowed? Regular brushing and a yearly cleaning at the dentist may accomplish something close to this by taking away any genuine stains that have discolored the enamel. And some commercial products claim to be able to whiten the underlying dentin as well as the enamel. However, they tend to be very acidic and as they remove minerals, the teeth may become weaker and more prone to decay. It might be that you simply have to learn to live with your natural tooth color, and concentrate instead on keeping your teeth clean and healthy rather than a white that is not natural to them.
