Can lemon juice only be used as a taste enhancer for a pleasant and refreshing tinge of sourness in your drink? Sucking on a piece of lemon may give you a strange sensation on your teeth, but did you know that it can save you many trips to the dentist.
Lemons can reduce toothaches, reduce the yellowing of teeth, heal bleeding gums, and are also an effective remedy for bad breath. The acid in lemons keeps the infections away by killing the bacteria in your mouth, thereby, helping you maintain oral health. However, overuse of lemons for teeth can have negative effects.
How Lemons Can Help You Fix Oral Problems
Here are 4 ways you can use lemons to cure problems related to your teeth and gums:
1. Whiten Teeth
Wine, smoking, tea, and coffee are usually the main culprits behind the yellowing of teeth. Teeth whitening treatments can be expensive. Using lemon and salt, common ingredients found in your kitchen, can help you get rid of the stains and give you a flashing smile.
Lemon is a natural bleaching agent and can help to whiten teeth and remove the stains on your teeth.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 or 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
Directions
- Make a paste using the salt and lemon juice.
- Use this paste to brush your teeth gently.
- Leave it on for a few minutes and rinse thoroughly with water.
- Repeat this process twice a week for a positive result.
Don’t use this method more than 2 times a week as the citric acid in lemon juice can harm your teeth and make the teeth more yellow, as the enamel erodes.
2. Cure Bad Breath
After eating onions or garlic, you certainly find it difficult to talk to people due to the resulting bad breath. Dryness of the mouth can also lead to bad breath as saliva is responsible for killing oral bacteria.
Lemon has antimicrobial properties due to the acidic content that kills the oral bacteria and helps you get rid of bad breath. It can also prevent a dry mouth.1
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon of lemon juice
Directions
- After your meal, gargle with lemon juice and spit it out.
- Rinse your mouth with water for fresh breath.
Ensure that you rinse your mouth with water to avoid damage to the tooth enamel due to the high acidity of lemon juice.
3. Strengthen Gums
Lemons are effective in strengthening the gums and teeth. The vitamin C content in lemon can also heal bleeding gums due to its anti-inflammatory properties.2 3
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 glass of water
Directions
- Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to a glass of water.
- Use it to rinse your mouth after meals.
You can also apply lemon directly to your gums to cure bleeding gums.
4. Relieve Toothache
Toothache is usually caused due to tooth decay. Lemon juice contains vitamin C that can help you get rid of infections and relieves the toothache at the same time.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Directions
- Use a cotton ball to soak some lemon juice.
- Dab it on the affected area.
- Rinse your mouth with water.
Note: Avoid leaving lemon juice on your teeth for more than 10 to 15 minutes as its acidic content can damage your teeth.
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