Mega Bored
Store-bought teeth whitening products are great. Unfortunately, they’re not only expensive; they’re chock-full of chemicals too! The good news is you can achieve a whiter, more dazzling smile the natural way!
Perhaps one of the most popular ways to whiten the teeth naturally is by using activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is often used to selectively remove toxins and purify water. This black powder is basically carbon treated with oxygen— creating millions of tiny pores between carbon atoms. The result of this treatment is super porous charcoal that allows liquid or gas to pass through and interact with the exposed carbon.
The carbon then purifies by absorbing all the contaminants, toxins, and impurities. Activated charcoal is so effective in binding toxins that even major hospitals are never without it for poison control. In Japan, activated charcoal is often used as seasoning or as food ingredient because of its powerful toxin-absorbing properties. The Chinese consume activated charcoal regularly to flush out impurities from the body.
And because activated charcoal is able to absorb contaminants, it works great as a teeth whitener! Best of all, activated charcoal is widely available and is very affordable compared to commercial teeth whiteners. Activated charcoal helps remove deep-seated stain in the teeth surface, absorb toxin buildup from our mouth, and even kill oral bacteria.
So how do you whiten your teeth using charcoal?
There’s nothing complicated about the steps at all. First you’ll need an old toothbrush (one that you don’t mind getting darkened by the black powder), a capsule of activated charcoal, some paper towels, and a cup of water for rinsing your mouth.
Wet your toothbrush thoroughly. On a clean paper towel, twist-open a capsule of activated charcoal and empty it on the wet toothbrush. Start brushing!
Brushing with activated charcoal alone will feel weird because the powder is gritty against the teeth. But just give it a few seconds of brushing and your own saliva will mix in with the powder, creating a toxin-absorbing paste.
If you’re not keen on the idea of brushing with just activated charcoal, you can mix it with regular toothpaste too. On a clean paper towel, twist open a capsule of activated charcoal, add a pea-sized amount of your favorite toothpaste and mix together to create a paste. You can then transfer the mixture onto your wet toothbrush and brush normally.
Brush with the activated charcoal for 3 to 5 minutes and rinse your mouth well after. Don’t forget to brush your tongue with activated charcoal too! Clinical research shows that 80% of oral bacteria are on the tongue.
For teeth with mild staining, brushing with activated charcoal can be done two to three days in a row for effective whitening. However, for extremely stained teeth, we recommend brushing with activated charcoal for five consecutive days. Do not brush your teeth with activated charcoal for a prolonged period of time!
If you’re a fan of oil-pulling, you can also mix a capsule of activated charcoal to make for an even more potent, teeth-whitening, bacteria-killing mixture!
