topic Re: brushing with baking soda in Community Chat

brushing with baking soda

freakygirl — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:39:19 GMT

has anyone here ever tried brushing her teeth with baking soda to whiten or brighten it? if yes, please tell me how you did it. caffeine is wreaking havoc on my teeth but I don't want to give it up thanx!

Re: brushing with baking soda

scotttie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:42:41 GMT

It's what folks used to use in the old days before toothpaste and during the depression. I remember using it once or twice as a kid when we ran out of toothpaste. You moisten your toothbrush and dip the bristles on some soda and brush away. It tastes nasty though.

I am willing to be corrected on this ""how to"".

Re: brushing with baking soda

ROMARY — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:45:58 GMT

I'm wondering if adding some flavoring of some sort? Maybe a drop of vanilla extract? Maybe not..........How about a drop of mint flavored Listerine. Just a drop into the baking soda. It might taste better. I recall trying baking soda years ago, but didn't care for the taste.

Re: brushing with baking soda

brii — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:47:44 GMT

I could never do that. I would gag

Re: brushing with baking soda

Sabatini2 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:48:56 GMT

On 10/20/2014 scotttie said:
It's what folks used to use in the old days before toothpaste and during the depression. I remember using it once or twice as a kid when we ran out of toothpaste. You moisten your toothbrush and dip the bristles on some soda and brush away. It tastes nasty though.

I am willing to be corrected on this ""how to"".

You're not going to be corrected by me! That's the way we brushed our teeth when we were kids. Our folks were thrifty!

toothpaste: baking soda mixed w/ salt

deodorant: baking soda

shampoo: a bar of Ivory soap

detangler: apple cider vinegar + water

Re: brushing with baking soda

lulu2 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:49:05 GMT

I had a roommate whose father was dentist. She had all us brushing with baking soda to keep are teeth white. (in addition to brushing with tooth paste)

Re: brushing with baking soda

ROMARY — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:51:12 GMT

There was Colgate Tooth Powder in a tin, as I recall from a poster a couple of months ago. I remember finding a photo on the Web. Maybe it was flavored, though. p.s. Someone here mentioned Pepsodent Tooth Powder, which I recall seeing somewhere, too.

Re: brushing with baking soda

pattypeep — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:51:33 GMT

Yes, I did years ago for a long time. I brushed as usual with the soda and then brushed again with toothpaste to get the soda taste out of my mouth. The teeth feel really clean afterwards.

Re: brushing with baking soda

ROMARY — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:58:41 GMT

SABININI2: You won't believe this (well, maybe you will), but I ran out of shampoo a couple of months ago, and used Ivory Bar Soap instead.! It was there on the bathroom sink counter, my hair was soaking wet, and I didn't want to go down two flights of stairs to where I store my fresh shampoo bottles. And, guess what.......it worked just fine! I gave it a rinse of a bit of white vinegar diluted with warm water, as I often do anyway.

Re: brushing with baking soda

lulu2 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:58:43 GMT

On 10/20/2014 ROMARY said:
There was Colgate Tooth Powder in a tin, as I recall from a poster a couple of months ago. I remember finding a photo on the Web. Maybe it was flavored, though.

My grandparents only used Pepsodent tooth powder. I hated when we had to brush our teeth with it.

Re: brushing with baking soda

focksie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:00:47 GMT

I've been brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste for quite a few years. In this past year I switched to Arm & Hammer (with baking soda) for Sensitive Teeth because it is less expensive than Sensodyne. I could swear that the inside of my lower front teeth are "rough" and my tongue is constantly there feeling the roughness. I'm wondering if the Arm & Hammer (which I have since stopped) caused too much abrasion. I'll have to ask my dentist about it next time I see him.

OP, one thing you could do to cut down on any staining -- even though it's a PITA -- is to swish your mouth with water after you drink coffee. Just an idea.

Re: brushing with baking soda

focksie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:03:16 GMT

On 10/20/2014 ROMARY said:
There was Colgate Tooth Powder in a tin, as I recall from a poster a couple of months ago. I remember finding a photo on the Web. Maybe it was flavored, though.

So funny you mention this. Is it still around?

When I was a very young child, regular toothpaste would make me gag because of all the bubbles in my mouth. My mom got Colgate powder in a tin can which was much more tolerable for me because it hardly produced any bubbles, lol.

Re: brushing with baking soda

LyndaGee — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:11:19 GMT

Oprah has said she brushes her teeth with baking soda. I've tried it, but I didn't like it at all.

I use a whitening tooth paste.

Re: brushing with baking soda

ROMARY — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:11:51 GMT

I hadn't thought about tooth powder in those tins until someone mentioned it a couple of months ago or so. Then, I tried to think if I recall using it or seeing it in person when I was a child? Seems as though I did.........maybe even used it, but I'm not sure. Our minds sometimes play tricks on us! (Me/Myself)

Re: brushing with baking soda

ROMARY — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:13:43 GMT

As far as sensitive tooth paste, I've been using Colgate Sensitive, which rinses out very smooth feeling. I keep away from the 'whitening' types of toothpastes. I'm only thinking that they could be too harsh.

Re: brushing with baking soda

freakygirl — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:15:20 GMT

On 10/20/2014 focksie said:
I've been brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste for quite a few years. In this past year I switched to Arm & Hammer (with baking soda) for Sensitive Teeth because it is less expensive than Sensodyne. I could swear that the inside of my lower front teeth are "rough" and my tongue is constantly there feeling the roughness. I'm wondering if the Arm & Hammer (which I have since stopped) caused too much abrasion. I'll have to ask my dentist about it next time I see him.

OP, one thing you could do to cut down on any staining -- even though it's a PITA -- is to swish your mouth with water after you drink coffee. Just an idea.

focksie, I do rinse my mouth after I drink coffee and tea, and though my teeth aren't super yellow, it could look better. I thought maybe baking soda would help but I won't try it now that you mentioned it could be abrasive. I might be doing more harm. thank you!!

Re: brushing with baking soda

Sabatini2 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:17:00 GMT

On 10/20/2014 ROMARY said:
SABININI2: You won't believe this (well, maybe you will), but I ran out of shampoo a couple of months ago, and used Ivory Bar Soap instead.! It was there on the sink, my hair was soaking wet, and I didn't want to go down two flights of stairs to where I store my fresh shampoo bottles. And, guess what.......it worked just fine! I gave it a rinse of a bit of white vinegar diluted with warm water, as I often do anyway.

Re: brushing with baking soda

focksie — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:22:39 GMT

On 10/20/2014 freakygirl said:
On 10/20/2014 focksie said:
I've been brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste for quite a few years. In this past year I switched to Arm & Hammer (with baking soda) for Sensitive Teeth because it is less expensive than Sensodyne. I could swear that the inside of my lower front teeth are "rough" and my tongue is constantly there feeling the roughness. I'm wondering if the Arm & Hammer (which I have since stopped) caused too much abrasion. I'll have to ask my dentist about it next time I see him.

OP, one thing you could do to cut down on any staining -- even though it's a PITA -- is to swish your mouth with water after you drink coffee. Just an idea.

focksie, I do rinse my mouth after I drink coffee and tea, and though my teeth aren't super yellow, it could look better. I thought maybe baking soda would help but I won't try it now that you mentioned it could be abrasive. I might be doing more harm. thank you!!

I'm sure you could use baking soda once in a while without any problem. I just have reservations about every day use but you can google if brushing every day with baking soda is harmful. Above all, only use a soft toothbrush. Another thing you could do is chew a piece of gum after the coffee. That will also take some of the coffee residue off the teeth. You could also drink coffee through a straw........but that could very well cause vertical lip lines after a while.

Re: brushing with baking soda

freakygirl — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:47:33 GMT

On 10/20/2014 focksie said:
On 10/20/2014 freakygirl said:
On 10/20/2014 focksie said:
I've been brushing with Sensodyne toothpaste for quite a few years. In this past year I switched to Arm & Hammer (with baking soda) for Sensitive Teeth because it is less expensive than Sensodyne. I could swear that the inside of my lower front teeth are "rough" and my tongue is constantly there feeling the roughness. I'm wondering if the Arm & Hammer (which I have since stopped) caused too much abrasion. I'll have to ask my dentist about it next time I see him.

OP, one thing you could do to cut down on any staining -- even though it's a PITA -- is to swish your mouth with water after you drink coffee. Just an idea.

focksie, I do rinse my mouth after I drink coffee and tea, and though my teeth aren't super yellow, it could look better. I thought maybe baking soda would help but I won't try it now that you mentioned it could be abrasive. I might be doing more harm. thank you!!

I'm sure you could use baking soda once in a while without any problem. I just have reservations about every day use but you can google if brushing every day with baking soda is harmful. Above all, only use a soft toothbrush. Another thing you could do is chew a piece of gum after the coffee. That will also take some of the coffee residue off the teeth. You could also drink coffee through a straw........but that could very well cause vertical lip lines after a while.

thanx for all the suggestions but I think I'll stick to rinsing my mouth and getting a professional cleaning more often.

Re: brushing with baking soda

Vamp — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 23:52:52 GMT

I asked my sister, who is a dentist, about using baking soda. While it was once used widely and is added to some tooth pastes, she said it is far too abrasive to use on a regular basis. In other words, over time you will wear down your enamel.

If you are interested in whitening your teeth, I highly recommend Crest White Strips. I have had Zoom whitening (done professionally by a dentist) and I maintain them with the Crest White Strips. They are amazing!