How to Whiten Teeth With Coconut Oil

Sparkling clean teeth and a nice bright white smile will enhance anyone’s level of attractiveness. The problem is that the teeth whitening chemicals used both by dentists and in over the counter drug store kits and whitening toothpastes are toxic to our bodies and can pose some serious health risks in the long term.  There is, however, a much safer way to whiten teeth naturally, without the need for toxic chemicals.  Want to know how to whiten teeth with coconut oil?

You’ve probably already heard about many of the health benefits of coconut oil. Aside for having many medicinal properties and healing benefits for the body, it is also used in many different ways as a natural beauty enhancer and for natural personal care. Using coconut oil to whiten teeth naturally is just one of many ways people are using this super-healthy oil as part of their personal care regime. It whitens teeth and really makes them sparkle.

Not only can you whiten teeth with coconut oil, but it has other very beneficial effects for your oral care as well. Coconut oil aids improves gum health and removes plaque.  And this explains the mechanism behind how you can whiten teeth with coconut oil – its because the oil has the ability to naturally remove plaque, so the tooth enamel becomes whiter.

Using coconut oil to whiten teeth naturally also has the added benefit that it won’t increase sensitivity which can be a problem resulting from the toxic chemicals used by dentists or in tooth whitening kits.

Flossing With Coconut Oil

Flossing with coconut oil is an additional method recommended for how to whiten teeth with coconut oil. Those tight spaces between teeth can often remain yellowed looking even after using whitening toothpaste or an over the counter teeth whitening kit because tarter remains trapped in those tight areas.

By flossing with coconut oil you are able to get into those tight crevices with the coconut oil to attack the tarter, and once again, the coconut oil works its magic to break down and remove the plaque.

How to floss with coconut oil:  Simply apply a dab of coconut oil to your dental floss and smooth it over the floss using your pointer finger and thumb, then work the floss between your teeth and floss normally.

Brush Teeth With Coconut Oil and Baking Soda

You can create an even more advanced formula to whiten teeth naturally if you brush teeth with coconut oil and  baking soda.  Simply add a bit of baking soda onto a dab of coconut oil and brush your teeth with it.  The anti-fungal properties of the baking soda and its slightly gritty texture are an excellent pairing with the coconut oil to cut through plaque buildup to reveal a whiter, brighter smile.

Rinse Your Teeth With Coconut Oil

Here is one additional technique for how to whiten teeth with coconut oil and really get them to gleam and shine. Rinse your teeth each day with coconut oil.  Its especially important to do this when you first wake up in the morning. If you can manage to do it another couple of times throughout the day it will enhance the whitening effect even further and help your teeth to sparkle.

Use a tablespoon of coconut oil and swish it around your mouth for 15 minutes as you start your day. Yes, 15 minutes. It’ll go by quickly as you shower or get dressed, etc.

Do this before eating or drinking anything.

Swishing the oil between your teeth will not only result in a brighter smile, it’s also a great detox that improves total oral health, and (believe it or not) provides other health benefits to the body as well.

Noticeably Better Oral Health

After you’ve used coconut oil as part of your oral health routine for even a short while, you will begin to see and feel the difference.  Your mouth will actually feel cleaner. This is because in addition to naturally breaking down plaque, coconut oil is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial, so its actually killing bacteria in your mouth – again without toxic chemicals.  You will also notice your teeth to be visibly shinier – they’ll have a clean looking gleam to them. That shine is a sure sign that plaque is being broken down and removed.  If you don’t notice the whitening effect right away, but you are seeing that shine and your mouth is feeling cleaner, keep at it. These are indicators that it is working. It may take some time to work through the plaque that is hiding that nice white smile. Its worth the time and effort, knowing that you are whitening teeth naturally, safely, without the toxic chemicals that may be quietly poisoning your body and creating health risks for you into the future.

Backed By Scientific Studies

The notion that coconut oil is good for oral care and that you can whiten teeth with coconut oil is not an urban legend or old wives tale.  There are scientific studies to back it up.  Research published in the Nigerian Journal of Medicine‘s March/April 2015 edition studied a group of people who added oil pulling to their oral hygiene routine over a 30 day period. Their plaque and gum disease levels were assessed on days 1, 7, 15, and 30.

After just seven days of oil pulling, levels of plaque and gum disease significantly reduced, and continued to decrease over a period of a month.

Researchers from Kennur Dental College in India state that Coconut oil “is unique because it contains predominantly medium chain fatty acids, of which 45-50 percent is lauric acid. Lauric acid has proven anti inflammatory and antimicrobial effects”. Those antimicrobial effects have the ability to literally pull bacteria and micro-organisms up out of the body, including the mouth, which you can then spit out (this is why you should never swallow the coconut oil you use for this purpose, but rather, always spit it out).

US dentist Dr Jessica T Emery, founder of Sugar Fix Dental Loft in Chicago is a huge proponent of using coconut oil for oral and dental care.  She explained the science behind how coconut oil removes harmful bacteria from the mouth as follows: ‘Most microorganisms in the mouth consist of a single cell. Cells are covered with a fatty membrane which is the cell’s skin. When these cells come into contact with oil – a fat – they naturally adhere to each other.’

Leading UK dentist Dr James Goolnik, founder of Bow Lane Dental in Central London and previously voted the most influential person in UK dentistry, agrees ‘oil pulling is likely to lessen the bacterial load in the mouth’, he said it an article published in the UK’s Daily Mail.