Brushing Your Teeth With Baking Soda: Is It Safe?
Table of Contents
- Pros & Cons of Brushing with Baking Soda
- Demineralization Properties
- Teeth Whitening & Baking Soda
- How to Whiten Teeth
- Is It Safe?
- How to Use & Brush
- Baking Soda vs. Commercial Products
- Understand the ingredients
There are many reasons people are brushing their teeth with baking soda, such as these:
It is a mild abrasive.
Baking soda helps to remove plaque.
It can help to balance the pH in your mouth.
Baking soda can aid in whitening your teeth.
Baking soda can be effective and safe for these purposes when used properly. Often, people tolerate products containing baking soda, such as toothpaste, better than baking soda by itself.
Pros & Cons of Brushing your Teeth with Baking Soda
Like many dental care options, brushing your teeth with baking soda has some benefits and some disadvantages.
Pros of brushing your teeth with baking soda include the following:
Cost: Baking soda is very inexpensive.
Convenience: Many people have baking soda in their homes. It’s also available from most grocery stores and drugstores.
No hidden ingredients: Baking soda doesn’t contain any artificial colorings or additives.
Naturally antibacterial: Baking soda disinfects and has antimicrobial properties.
Proven effective: Research indicates that baking soda reduces plaque in the mouth.
Many oral health benefits: In addition to reducing plaque, baking soda may help to balance PH levels in the mouth, promote healthy tooth enamel, and remove stains.
Easy to incorporate: There are many DIY options for using baking soda on teeth, including mouth rinses and pastes. Many over-the-counter products also include baking soda, and products containing baking soda have been shown to be effective.2
Gentle enough to treat cancer-related oral problems: Baking soda rinses are often recommended for helping to soothe and treat mouth sores and other oral health problems associated with chemotherapy and cancer.
Safety: Baking soda is considered generally safe for use in oral care.
Cons of brushing teeth with baking soda the following:
Doesn’t have fluoride: Most dentists recommend using a fluoride toothpaste as part of your oral care routine in order to fight cavities and decay.
Limited effectiveness: When used alone, baking soda may not be as effective as other options. Many dental products include advanced ingredients to target specific conditions (like gum health or whitening, for example). While baking soda can promote oral health and reduce plaque, there may be other products that are more effective in meeting your needs.
Abrasiveness: Baking soda is generally considered safe and gentle, but it’s still an abrasive product that might not be suitable for everyone or everyday use.
Baking Soda for Plaque Removal
Bacteria forms on teeth after eating and can lead to the buildup of plaque. Plaque can be broken down and removed from teeth by brushing your teeth regularly. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a mildly abrasive substance that can be effective at removing plaque from your teeth.Baking soda is effective in removing the plaque biofilm from the teeth, research shows. It is also inexpensive, easy to find, and therefore easily accessible as a tool for plaque removal to help prevent tooth decay.
Demineralization Properties of Baking Soda on Your Teeth
Carbohydrates in foods can change the pH level in your mouth, creating an acidic environment that can lead to demineralization of your teeth. In turn, this can cause the enamel to erode. The more minerals your teeth lose, the more likely you are to get a cavity, which is when the enamel in the teeth is irreversibly damaged.
Baking soda can help to balance and reverse the acidic pH level in your mouth and therefore aids in preventing this demineralization process. It has basic properties that can counteract the acids that contribute to the loss of minerals on your teeth created by foods you eat.
Oral products containing hydrogen peroxide whiten your teeth by oxidizing stains on the surface of your teeth.
Teeth Whitening & Baking Soda
Many foods and drinks, such as coffee and wine, can stain your teeth. There are numerous methods and products on the market for whitening your teeth for cosmetic purposes. Many of these products contain baking soda, as it has been shown to aid in stain removal and teeth whitening.
Baking soda is an abrasive substance that can scrape away stains on the surface of your teeth. Just as wood looks a little lighter after a brush with sandpaper, your teeth can look lighter when brushed with soda.
In an overview study published in 2017, researchers examined published data about baking soda for stain removal. They found that baking soda is a safe and effective way to remove stains and whiten teeth. They also found that toothpastes with baking soda were more effective in removing stains than those that didn’t include baking soda but were more abrasive.
However, baking soda isn’t the only way to whiten your teeth.
Some companies sell strips you can place on your teeth to whiten them at home. These products contain bleaching agents that reduce stains on the surface and lower layers of teeth.
In 2020, researchers examined the efficacy of these products vs. toothpastes with baking soda. They analyzed data from 11 studies, measuring the difference in color before and after treatment. They found that the strips were more effective in whitening teeth than the pastes were.
If you’d like to whiten your smile, ask your doctor about the safest and most effective approach to try. You may find that simple baking soda doesn’t have enough power.
How to Whiten Teeth with Baking Soda
If you are still interested in whitening your teeth with baking soda, you might consider the following:
A DIY baking soda mouthwash: Mixing one cup of filtered water and about four teaspoons of baking soda and a few drops of peppermint essential oil in a sterile jar will provide you with a safe baking soda mouthwash. Use about two tablespoons at a time, and check with your dentist before use.
A DIY baking soda toothpaste: Add this into your care routine while still using a fluoride toothpaste as your primary product. An easy recipe is one tablespoon of water and one tablespoon of baking soda, mixed into a paste and gently applied to every area in the mouth. Rinse thoroughly after two minutes.
Other products: Choose an over-the-counter whitening product that includes baking soda as an active ingredient and is approved by the American Dental Association (ADA).
Safety of Baking Soda & Your Teeth
For the most part, baking soda is considered safe and low abrasive, which means that it is safe to use on your teeth. That being said, it is still an abrasive substance, and it can lead to enamel erosion with time. Baking soda needs to be used with caution, and it shouldn’t be used every day. There are a lot of products on the market today, many of which contain baking soda, that can be better options for daily and regular use.
How to Use Baking Soda to Brush Your Teeth
Interested in brushing teeth with baking soda? You’ll need to follow a few steps to get started. Simply dumping powder on your brush won’t give you the power you need to keep your teeth clean.
Here’s what to do to create a baking soda paste and use it on your teeth:
Place equal parts baking soda and warm water in a small bowl.
Stir the mixture with your index finger until it thickens. You should have a thick paste that will stick to your toothbrush.
Dip your toothbrush into the soda mixture.
Coat each tooth with the paste.
Brush for two minutes in circular motions.
Spit out the mixture and rinse well.
It’s best to make a fresh batch of paste each time you brush. When the substance dries out, it’s much harder to slather onto your teeth.
Comparing brushing teeth with baking soda vs. commercial products
Should you brush your teeth with baking soda, or should you use commercial toothpaste to brighten your smile? Your dentist can help answer this question, but this chart may also be helpful.
| Baking Soda | Commercial Toothpaste |
Typical ingredients | Baking soda | Fluoride, antimicrobial agents, abrasives, detergents, flavors |
Cost | About a dollar for a box with multiple doses | About $2 for a box with fewer doses than baking soda |
Safety | Can be poisonous when swallowed in very large amounts | Some ingredients can cause allergic reactions; children may swallow too much |
Effectiveness* | Not approved by the ADA, as it doesn’t contain fluoride | If it meets the ADA’s approval for ingredients and fluoride content |
Pros | Very inexpensive and doesn’t include ingredients that might cause an allergic reaction | May do a better job of preventing cavities, tastes better, and doesn’t require mixing |
Cons | Can taste bad and feel gritty, doesn’t include fluoride | More expensive and includes ingredients some people dislike |
* Per the American Dental Association
Understand the ingredients in commercial toothpaste
Some people choose baking soda for their teeth because they’re intimidated by the long list of ingredients on a commercial toothpaste box. The American Dental Association explains that toothpastes contain several ingredients that can benefit oral health, but these products can also include inactive ingredients that could cause allergic reactions.
Active ingredients in toothpastes include the following:
Fluoride: This element strengthens teeth to help prevent tooth decay.
Desensitizing agents: Ingredients like potassium hydroxyapatite can help to reduce pain you might feel when you eat something cold or tap your teeth with floss.
Abrasives: Ingredients like silica whiten teeth by removing surface staining.
Detergents: Ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate help toothpaste to foam, which can loosen plaque deposits.
Toothpastes can also include inactive ingredients like flavors, humectants (to keep the paste from drying out), and thickening agents. These make the product just taste and work better, but they may not help your teeth. With so many products on the market, you may be able to find a paste that doesn’t include the ingredient you dislike.