Can you realistically get white teeth without having to rely on teeth whitening products and procedures? Yes, but it can sometimes be a risky venture. Its normal to think that anything "natural" couldn't possibly be more harmful than something artificial and chemical-based. But some of the time, that isn't the case. Nature packs some very powerful substances that can provide the perfect cure, but also damaging to the body.

Strawberries taste good but...

Can they help with teeth whitening? Yep, and this is one method that I recommend, but not too often. Malic Acid, which is also found in fresh grapes, can naturally combat tooth stains. The conventional method is to smash a strawberry and mix with baking soda to form a paste. Then apply the mixture it to your teeth, wait 5 minutes, rinse and brush.

How about Lemon Juice?

Lemon Juice is pretty popular as a teeth whitener, but its not recommended. Lemon Juice is very acidic, and can eat at the layers of your teeth. The common use is to dab baking soda and lemon juice on your toothbrush and brush. After several uses, this will seem like its working. However, many people in the dentistry field have reported patients with tooth damage because of lemon juice. There are safer options available.

Wood Ash?
Another somewhat popular method (outside of the US) is to take ashes from a wood fire and brush with it. This obviously tastes terrible, but it oddly effective in scrubbing away stains. It is however as harsh as it sounds and can very easily damage if brushed too hard. You're dealing with Potassium Hydroxide here, the base of many soaps, which negatively impacts teeth over time.

Vegetables

You probably know the advantages of adding raw crunchy vegetables to your diet already, but they have an added benefit of whitening your teeth by removing stains. Best of all, there are no negative side effects (unless you're allergic or don't have enough fiber, or just hate the taste....)

Keep in mind that none of these methods are bleaching, so they cannot make your teeth whiter than their natural color. If your teeth have naturally lost their luster over the wear and tear of age, then you may want to look to other teeth whitening products to reach your ideal whiteness.

And please remember that if a remedy has abrasive power, then its able to wear down teeth, even the healthy parts that you want to keep too. Always use moderation with whichever method of teeth whitening you choose.