Can I Bleach My Teeth With Household Bleach?

I wanted to bleach my teeth but My husband doesn’t want to waste money on what he thinks is plain vanity. I just want to feel comfortable about my smile. Is it possible for me to use household bleach to whiten my teeth? If so, what would be the best way to handle it? I looked it up and it isn’t an acid but a base, which I’m guessing is safer.

Olivia

Dear Olivia,

I’m glad you wrote before trying this. Being a base doesn’t necessarily make it safe. There are different levels of bases, just like there are different levels of acids. For instance, lemon is typically an acid. It’s a citric acid. Some bases are safe. Others, like lye, are very dangerous. For instance Lye can dissolve a body.

Clorox, while it cannot dissolve a body, it does damage and dissolve living tissue. In fact, dentists often use it to clean out the dead tissue and debris left over in a root canal treatment.

If you were to use this to try and whiten your teeth, it would end up damaging your gums, the insides of your cheeks, as well as your tongue. That would not happen from one use. However, you would need to use it quite a bit in order to make a difference.

The most effective and safest way to whiten your teeth is through a dentist with professional teeth whitening. I do understand that your husband isn’t on board with that. I do not want to get between a husband and wife. One thing that may work is asking for it as a present, such as your birthday or Christmas. That way he may not feel like he’s spending “extra” money.

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