Natural Teeth Cleaning Products

[Sergei]

I like to use natural products on my teeth such as baking soda and peroxide. Are these natural products efficient for maintaining dental hygiene? They definitely seem to whiten my teeth but I've began to see the edges of my teeth become translucent. Is this due to the what I've been using or is it just the natural aging of my teeth? I would like to know if there's anything better that's available such as a toothpaste with all natural ingredients? Is there anything to correct the translucent look on the edges of my teeth?

[Dr Vahid Motahar]

Hi,

Thank you for your question which is a very interesting question.

One has to be very careful in terms of substituting the use of what you have referred to as natural products with fluoride containing dental products in achieving good oral health. I have have had patients that have stopped the use of conventional dental products (and what I mean is mostly fluoridated tooth pastes) and as the result they developed many defects and cavities and increased their decay risk.
It is the fluoride in toothpastes and mouth washes that has the largest effect in reducing the decay risk and developing dental cavities. I do not have anything against the use of natural products as long as they contain fluoride to protect teeth against decay.


The best effective way of whitening teeth is by means of whitening systems and toothpastes have very limited effect in whitening the teeth. At least I am not aware of any scientific study that has shown any toothpaste to produce statistically whiter teeth. They are excellent commercial product but their effectiveness is very limited.