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I've heard this a few times now with people claiming that brushing your teeth with baking soda is a good way to whiten your teeth and generally a better product to use than toothpaste.

Baking soda

Toothpaste manufacturers have obviously heard this too as there are quite a few toothpaste brands that offer a paste with baking soda added.

For this question I'm only interested in finding out if there is research that proves (or disproves) the theory that Baking Soda (the standard stuff you get in a supermarket) can remove stains from your teeth with no adverse effects.

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Yes, it can, but it's definitely not a magic bullet, or any major innovation. It's also not by some chemical reaction as some people assume.

Baking soda is a mild abrasive which is ideal in toothpaste because it's compatible with fluoride, it's not too abrasive as to damage teeth, it's cheap to produce and it's safe to use.

How does it whiten the teeth? Simply by rubbing off the tartar and plaque, which is the mechanism by which toothpaste works.

Salts, either sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, or a mixture of both, have also been used for tooth cleaning because of their ready availability and low cost. Because of both their relatively low intrinsic hardness and their high solubility, another advantage is low abrasivity.

--The use of sodium bicarbonate in oral hygiene products and practice.

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is composed of a chemical compound that makes it a great mild abrasive. It is this same abrasiveness that effectively removes surface stains from your teeth and make them appear whiter. However, if your goal is to remove deeper, older stains, then baking soda will not be as effective. You will need to see your dentist or use a product that was specifically created for whitening teeth.

--Colgate site

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  • Oh wow. Using it while still in crystal form is not good. But regarding chemical: brew two cuppa black tea. Let it sit for at least a day and watch the stains develop. Now scrub one with dish detergent and try to not get into overwork with an abrasive pad to remove it. Now use the other cup but just dissolve the soda with luke-warm water. Wait 30min. Now just gently swish your finger over the surface to get all stains removed with ease and barely a touch. / The abrasiveness of the hard soda-salt would be too much for me, the physical-chemical lift-action (for some substrates) is genius.
    – LangLаngС
    Jan 14, 2019 at 0:12

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