I am very pleased with my services from the staff at 7 O’Clock Dental and Dr. Tripp. The office is very clean and I was welcomed by Crystal at the front desk that made me at ease. I had a tooth that needed to be removed and I was extremely nervous about the procedure, but Dr. Tripp assured me that I would be fine. He removed the tooth and I could not believe it when he told me he was done. It was painless and extremely quick. I would recommend 7 O’Clock Dental to anyone seeking dental treatment.
If you spend much of any time on the internet, be it reading the news or surfing Facebook, you’re probably familiar with the “hacking” trend. We aren’t talking about computers – we’re talking about all the different things in life that people are finding ways to do more easily, cheaper, and efficiently than most people know about.
Teeth whitening is one of the newest “hackable” things, and tricks are popping up all over the internet on how to save money and time while still getting a gleamingly white smile. The biggest questions is also the most obvious one: do these tricks even work?
We get asked all kinds of teeth whitening questions at our New Orleans office, and our answer to most of those questions is the same: that probably won’t deliver the results that professional teeth whitening can!
Are Fruit Peels The Key To Whiter Teeth?
People have been going bananas over this new trend that involves both citrus and banana peels. The idea is that rubbing the inside surfaces of these fruit leftovers on your teeth can scrub away stains and leave you with a great looking set of teeth. Not so fast!
Citrus peels are nothing but a recipe for damaged enamel. The acid in citrus fruit softens the enamel on your teeth, making it easier for them to become damaged. This leads to inevitable cavities instead of white teeth – not a good idea.
Bananas won’t do much harm, but they won’t do much good either. The thought is that the potassium and magnesium in banana peels is supposed to shine and polish your teeth – which it does! Unfortunately it’s a very temporary polish, and it will wear off just about as soon as you walk away from the mirror.
The lesson to be learned here is pretty clear: don’t waste your time rubbing fruit peels on your gums!
Swishing Oil: Were The People Of India On To Something?
In ancient Indian medicine, called Ayurveda, a practice called oil pulling was used to clean and freshen teeth. It involves swishing oil in the mouth for ten to twenty minutes, and DIY teeth whitening advocates have latched onto it for it’s supposed ability to whiten teeth too.
The idea is that the swishing pulls bacteria away from teeth, and with it stains and the particles that cause them. While there is some merit to the idea that swishing oil will pull away bacteria there’s no good evidence that it will whiten teeth.
Oil pulling might have been a great idea if it was invented before the toothbrush. Swishing oil around can definitely loosen up and remove bacteria, which helps freshen up your mouth, but it can’t do it anywhere near as well as brushing and flossing.
The benefits of oil pulling are up for debate, but we all know that good oral hygiene through a dedicated brushing and flossing routine works. Don’t give up on it even if you decide to try the oil pulling method.
Hydrogen Peroxide And Baking Soda: A Good Pairing?
It might sound on paper like this would work: hydrogen peroxide is what we use to whiten professionally, and baking soda is a good toothpaste substitute in a pinch. But can those two really combine to make a true teeth whitening solution?
If you’re going this route you’re probably using the two percent hydrogen peroxide mix you have in the bathroom. That stuff is nowhere near strong enough to whiten teeth, and it won’t even be able to survive in your mouth long enough to make a difference!
When we whiten teeth we carefully separate the whitening gel from the rest of your mouth because saliva destroys the bonds that make up hydrogen peroxide. Using a low solution mix like the liquid found in your home won’t make any bit of difference.
Baking soda isn’t the best thing to use on a regular basis either. It’s simply too abrasive to be safe for your teeth. Prolonged use can result in scratched, scraped, and worn enamel.
How To Whiten Your Teeth On The First Try
At 7 O’Clock Dental we use the KöR whitening system. It’s a revolutionary teeth whitening product that will deliver amazing results in just a couple weeks of at-home use. You’ll be enjoying a bright white smile that lasts without the worry of whether or not you spent your money and time on nothing.
Don’t be taken in by teeth whitening tricks. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is! Let us help you get the truly bright smile you’ve been missing. Call our New Orleans office at 504-266-0664 or request an appointment online. We look forward to seeing you soon!