Although effective for whitening teeth, the use of baking soda can also cause side effects
JAKARTA – Having white teeth is the dream of almost everyone. There are many ways to get white teeth apart from brushing your teeth regularly, after breakfast and before bed. One of them is to use baking soda.
Baking soda is one of the easiest and most common ways for many people to get white teeth. Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate itself is usually used to make cakes, although sometimes it is used for other uses such as whitening teeth. But is it true that baking soda can whiten teeth?
Quoted from HealthlineIndeed, baking soda can whiten teeth. Baking soda has whitening properties that are effective at removing stains from your teeth, making them appear whiter and cleaner. In addition, baking soda can also help reduce plaque on teeth.
That’s because when you brush your teeth with baking soda, the granules can interfere with the biofilm or bacterial colonies on the tooth surface. As a result, the number of bacteria present is reduced which helps prevent damage to the teeth and gums.
A 2017 study also showed that gargling with baking soda can increase the pH in the mouth, thereby reducing acid. Bacteria that cause cavities also become difficult to breed because of it.
Not only that, baking soda can also be an option for them to avoid fluoride poisoning from using toothpaste, especially for children under six years old. Fluoride poisoning can cause pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and heart and kidney problems. However, cases like this are very rare.
Although baking soda can be used as a teeth whitener, be careful. Because, there are side effects that can be obtained from using baking soda on teeth. One of them is the abrasive nature of baking soda.
Baking soda can remove plaque from the surface of your teeth, but without the proper procedure, it can cause small scratches to form on the tooth enamel. Also, whitening your teeth with baking soda is a short-term procedure. This means that the teeth will return to their original color in a short time.
Brushing your teeth with baking soda also makes tooth enamel thinner. As a result, the teeth become more sensitive to cold and hot foods. Baking soda also does not contain fluoride which is useful for preventing cavities.
So, brushing your teeth with baking soda can still cause cavities, because it is not able to fight bacteria on the teeth. For those who have an allergy to baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, whitening teeth with baking soda can be harmful to health.
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