All of this raw produce is starting to really stain my teeth. I'm not really into conventional teeth whiteners. Anybody have any natural solutions? Is baking soda a good idea or is it too abrasive?

Thanks!

The best I've found is Eco-Dent's whitening powder. You can find it at Whole Foods.

Tom's of Maine really works, but it contains glycerin.



Swayze
[www.fitonraw.com]

Thanks Swayze. I'll check it out.

Wow that's to bad, can you elaborate as to what kind of staining and what you may be eating to cause this. I know some of the raw foodist's I know have a blueish hue to their teeth? I think it is because of all the calcium they are getting.

Slightly greenish/brownish from all of the greens and dark root teas. I brush pretty much right after eating with neem oil. I've started using baking soda now, and they're a little better. It's not really that bad, I just don'w want it to progress... know what I mean??

i read some time ago about mashing up strawberries and a pinch of baking soda to whiten teeth .. i suppose you would have to floss after to get the little berry seeds out

never tried it tho .. im curious about it tho and why it would work

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hey Jodi-

Haha... strawberries. That's different. You'd think the pigment in them would make them stain more. I wonder about plain baking soda. It does seem to help. I just don't want to make things worse in the long run by eroding the enamel. Speaking of berries, I love blueberries. I bet that's another contributor to my dilemma.

yea i know sounds weird .. for somereason i think the strawberries seeds would scratch at your enamel or something

what i did read is you dont brush with it tho .. you just make a paste with it .. put in the teeth then rinse it off

i think brushing in the strawberries and baking might etch away like you say.

[www.ehow.com]

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

marsh,

Do you rinse your teeth with water first, before commencing brushing? If not, you are literally grinding acids and sugars into your tooth enamel with the brush! Also, isn't straight neem oil caustic? I imagine it could cause microscopic pitting of the enamel and make it more vulnerable to staining and caries. Will look into that . . .

Ah, this is interesting, especially point #1:

[www.discoverneem.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2011 03:03AM by Tamukha.

I do rinse first, I've been doing that instinctually. But now that you mention the importance of it, I'm glad I do, and will rinse even better from now on. Thanks for that.

About neem- I use one tiny drop on my toothbrush, it's super potent stuff. It's an age old ayurvedic remedy/tradition for maintaining oral health. In ancient India (and maybe still), neem branches were used as "toothbrushes." Neem will kill the bad bacteria while preserving the balance of good bacteria in the mouth. I sometimes swallow, and sometimes spit it out. Taken internally for extended periods, neem can cause liver damage because it is so powerful. But it kills intestinal parasites, and in high enough doses is specific for even curing malaria.

I love neem. When I lived in the Philippines years back, there was a neem tree in our yard. I was just in love with it. I made tea from the leaves and drank it daily for several months, which probably preserved my intestinal health because the water wasn't all that great. I also made an eyewash with the tea and cured pink eye that many of us got. It is called "the village pharmacy" in India and has dozens and dozens of proven medicinal uses.

Anyway... sorry to sway off topic here, but obviously I love the stuff. I just recently sort of "remembered" it and have begun using it as "toothpaste." It's not a great whitener, though, which is why I'm bringing this up. There's a natural remedy somewhere out there for whitening. Eating highly pigmented foods is a good thing, and I don't think our teeth are meant to turn every shade of blue, green, brown, purple and red in the process.

I've never heard of neem oil being used as a dental cleanser. Most neem oil sold here has not for internal use written on the bottle and only some special ayurvedic pharmacies make one suitable for internal use. It is very good for healing gums sores for short term use but I don't know about long term use as a cleanser....
there are toothpowder here which use neem along with many other ingredients...

There is no reason why eating raw food should stain your teeth. It's never stained mine.

Think more about the other'remedies' you are using, eg 'I love neem.' eg Tamukha's post. There are so many things that people are persuaded to do to themselves that have apparently marvellous short-term effects, at long-term cost.

Yes, You're right Deb, like bleaching. In another life I bleached my teeth that were stained brown from tea and coffee. Mind you, most of the stain was removed with the first bleaching. There after, it was very slow, and I wonder how much long term damage I have done. Natural whiteners take ages to work, but bleaching is really extreme and I shudder when I think of what I have done. Of course, the best remedy is prevention, and I really believe that the tannin in black tea was the major contributer since I used to drink heaps of it.

Hello there!

Foods that have the potential to stain teeth are called "chromogenic foods", and teas and some intensely colored fruits (berries and cherry) count among them. The best way to avoid long term staining is simply to improve dental hygiene. This may mean that you will have to brush and floss more often. Other than that, i doubt there is any secret trick to avoid staining. It's simply that some foods contain powerful pigments that adhere to the tooth enamel.
Also try flossing and brushing your teeth immediately after eating foods that can stain your teeth. This will prevent any new pigments from penetrating your tooth enamel and staining them.

Keeping it raw at [rawfoodhealthwatch.com]

Oh God, come to think of it, I used to drink lots of coke, and I smoked for 9yrs too.

Geo,

I bleached my teeth a few years ago several times to treat coffee/tea staining. I probably weakened the enamel and now I'm paying for it. It's really not severe staining that I'm seeing now, but they are a little bit discolored. Ok. so I guess the mystery is solved. Not alot I can do at this point other than to just deal with the slightly off color.

A note on neem as a tooth "toothpaste"- It is widely known as an oral cleanser for daily, long term use, that's why you'll see it an an ingredient in toothpastes and powders. It's not contributing to the problem here, and will not do harm in the long run. I have friends who have done this for years, using a drop of neem oil orally on the toothbrush, It is a good thing for oral health. Most likely it's the "chromogenic" foods vegmichelle is talking about. I love berries and eat them daily. Oh well. I'm not going to stop, I'll just have slightly stained teeth until I can somehow improve the enamel.

Tamukha,

Thanks for the link on neem. I've seen that before. I am not disputing the fact that neem oil is potent stuff, and like I said, if you take enough of it, for long enough, it will cause liver damage. Articles like the one you posted are written as a cautionary note so people don't go overboard. Neem oil can and is used safely for oral hygiene in very small amounts.

Hello again,

I forgot to mention a practice that might help greatly with tooth stains, namely "oil pulling". I first heard Daniel Vitalis talking about this and how some of the stains on our teeth are fat-soluble. Traditionally, sesame oil is used but many raw foodists opt for coconut oil, which is rich in lauric acid and has antimicrobial properties.
In fact, Daniel Vitalis has an interesting 6 step program to perfect dental hygiene and self-dentistry using all natural cleansing means. You can learn a bit more on it here: [rawfoodhealthwatch.com]

Good luck!

Keeping it raw at [rawfoodhealthwatch.com]

Yes, I suspected it was probably just your diet, what else could it be right. Also I remembered the fruit smoothies conversation from before.

I've been using Baking Soda, but thought I'd give this a try. It has Silica, so I don't know.
I just ordered 2 tubes. Any comments?......WY

[www.drugstore.com]

Vegmichelle-

Nice link from Daniel Vitalis. Thanks.

After 3 months on raw, my teeth began to stain too. I started to make my own toothpaste, and follow the teeth cleaning procedures outlined by Daniel Vitalis. My teeth look better than ever now, and I stopped going to to toxic dental offices for cleanings
How to make toothpaste ( he recommends zeolite, I use bentonite clay for now instaed)
[www.danielvitalis.com]
How to clean your teeth:
[www.danielvitalis.com]

A friend told me acids like vinegar and lemon/grapefruit juice helps remove stains. I have noticed that when I was drinking a lot of grapefruit juice, they looked much whiter.

If you like red wine too, the chances of teeth staining for you can be quite great.
A lot of people who try to get rid of the stains and don't want to go to dentist's office or use the strips usually go for the mouthwash and the toothpaste. You can actually make the toothpaste yourself with baking soda + hydrogen peroxide + water + some regular toothpaste to add texture. Use the paste to brush your teeth with and leave it on for 5 minutes / session. Avoid the gum area.

This remedy is good for only the people with no tooth decay problems, or gingivitis (gum disease).

Learn How to Whiten Teeth at Home Safely - Read Honest Reviews on Teeth Whitening Products at
==> www.BestTeethWhiteningProducts.co <==