Are you shy about showing your pearly…(uhh…)teeth? Yeah, I am. I’m also guilty to voracious consumption of coffee and tea on a daily basis, thus leaving my teeth unworthy of being shown to the public masses. I’ve tried whitening toothpaste to minimal results. I’ve tried and failed at giving up my caffeine fix. And I am wary of actual whitening stripes. Hear me out as to why.

Whitening stripes are toxic. Simple as that. It warns me not to ingest the residue while it stays on my teeth. That, is simply impossible. My mouth produces saliva every second and I simply cannot be sitting at a sink for 15 minutes straight just to spit it out. Also, they cause chemical burn. I felt the sensation of searing burn once I put it on my teeth, which, at first gave me a sign that it was working. However, upon taking it off, my teeth felt soft. Not good at all. It also irritated my gums. What cause it is the hydrogen peroxide found in this product. Yikes! Upon ingestion (which could not be helped at times), this stuff can also burn throat, stomach and gut.

So, what to do? RESEARCH. My vanity would not give up so I decided to do a bit of searching for alternatives (and heck, I was also being cheap) and here are some non-toxic ways to whiten your teeth:

1.Baking Soda: Oh the many miracles baking soda can cause upon cleaning disasters.  All you do is put toothpaste on your brush and dip your brush in baking soda. Boom, in one week (yes with caffeine consumption) you will see a noticeable difference in the shade of your teeth!

2. Strawberries: Say what?! Yes, these red babies have malic acid in their arsenal, which helps in remove stains naturally and the vitamin c also helps in removing plaque.

3. Electric toothbrush: Plain and simple, and relatively cheap. It has the vigor to effective clean your teeth that sometime we don’t possess with our hands.

So, here you are, try these solutions out and please let us know what you think!