How to use baking soda for teeth

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a mildly alkaline powder. In a toothpaste-like paste, its fine particles help loosen plaque and some surface stains from the enamel surface, but they do not remove tartar or repair cavities, enamel loss, or gum disease.

The result depends on what is changing the tooth color. Food and drink stains sit on the surface, while decay, fluorosis, medication-related discoloration, an injured tooth, and changes inside dentin need different assessment and treatment.

If you choose to use it, wet a soft toothbrush, place a small amount of the thin paste on the bristles, and brush the outer, inner, and chewing surfaces with light pressure for about two minutes. Spit and rinse well, then return to fluoride toothpaste for routine brushing rather than replacing it with baking soda.

Do not scrub harder, use a stiff brush, or pack dry powder against the teeth and gums. Vigorous abrasion can wear exposed dentin or enamel and irritate the gingival margin, especially when recession, erosion, sensitivity, braces, or dental restorations are present.

Arrange a dental examination if a tooth is painful, sensitive, chipped, darkening on its own, or developing a hole, or if brushing causes bleeding that keeps returning. These findings can reflect decay, a crack, exposed dentin, pulp inflammation, or gum disease rather than a surface stain.

Seek urgent dental care for facial swelling, pus, fever, severe or spreading tooth pain, trouble swallowing, or difficulty breathing. Baking soda cannot treat a dental infection or an injury to the tooth.

Ask whether the discoloration is on the enamel surface or within the tooth, whether you have enamel wear or gum recession, and whether a cavity, crack, or tartar is present. You can also ask which fluoride toothpaste and brushing technique suit your teeth, restorations, and sensitivity.