Dentist Questions Teeth Whitening

Can brushing my teeth with salt whiten my teeth?

My teeth are yellow from smoking cigarettes years back. I've read somewhere that brushing your teeth with salt can help with whitening your teeth. Is this true? I want to try it, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.

22 Answers

Not a good idea
The only way you can eliminate those tobacco stains is with professionally made bleaching trays and carbamide peroxide gels. See your dentist. The salt thing will not be of any benefit whatsoever.
A professional cleaning would have better results with less damage to your teeth and sodium levels.
The grittiness of the salt could wear away at your enamel very quickly. Not to mention- I'd imagine the taste is horrible. I'd recommend trying professional whitening, and if that still does not give you the results you'd like- ask your dentist about doing crowns or veneers on the teeth you see when you smile. Congratulations on quitting smoking!!
No, this is not true.
Do not do it.
This is true in that the salt is abrasive and can remove stain. However, this is not recommended. Due to the granular nature and size of salt granules tooth structure may be rubbed off leading to other issues. Additionally, this can cause trauma to sit tissues that can lead to pain and recesssion causing sensitivity. I would. It recommend this as a means to whiten my teeth.
I remember purchasing Dental soap in a wooden box that was made by the Cleopatra company. The box was worth more than the snow flies which is why I bought it. The American Dental Association recommends toothpaste because it is a medium which allows you to visually inspect where you brushed and where you not brushed so that you can keep a pattern of effectiveness. Salt leaves no marker and in crystalline form is not as effective as the pumice is in the toothpaste it would be similar to waxing the car with sand. Besides it's impossible to brush your teeth without swallowing a little bit of toothpaste as it fixes with a saliva and the water we used to rent and we don't need much more salt in the diet so I would categorize the whole equation as a wives tale.
Try baking soda moistened with a little peroxide or a whitening toothpaste. A dentist or hygienist might be able to remove most, if not all, of the stain first and then you just need to maintain it.
Salt is too abrasive and will cause wear of the teeth. I would not recommend brushing with it.
I would not do that, salt crystals are abrasive to the enamel of the tooth. In the long run, it would be harmful to your teeth.
Brushing your teeth with salt can whiten your teeth. Salt is an abrasive that has the ability to abrade the layers of the teeth and removes the stains and dark colour of the teeth. But, when salt is used for a long time for whitening the teeth, it might have detrimental effects resulting in different oral care complications such as loss of natural appearance of teeth and feeling sensitivity too.
Rinsing with warm water and salt is mostly recommended to disinfect the oral cavity with oral wounds; soothe and heal mouth sores.
Salt water mouth rinse can be used up to four times a day for treatment for up to two weeks with no adverse effects. However, over time an oral saline solution may adversely affect the tooth enamel, causing decay. Therefore is not recommended for long term use with little or no known whitening effects.
As a dentist, I do not believe that brushing with salt will whiten your teeth. I have not seen any research on it. i would recommend you get the professional whitening done with the dentist.


Salt is much too abrasive and can potentially harm your enamel. The best way to whiten your teeth is to have it professionally done. Yes, that is the most costly, but it will give the best possible results, especially since you are a smoker. Your next bet is the over the counter products. The reality is that, depending on how yellow your teeth are, no home remedy (i.e., salt) is likely to work well.
You should have a professional examine you and explain your options.

Keep smiling,
David M. Kaffey, DDS

David M. Kaffey, DDS


Leading Dental Solutions

2032 North Broad St., Ste 1

Lansdale, PA 19446



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Brushing your teeth with salt may help to remove stain because it is more abrasive, but it does not technically whiten your teeth the way professional teeth whitening systems do. I recommend having a professional cleaning done at a dentist office, make sure you don't have any cavities and then professionally whiten. Some professional whitening kits are quite inexpensive nowadays.
Brushing with salt will remove some exterior staining, such as coffee and tea staining. But it will not whiten your tobacco-browned teeth. For that, you will need something stronger, usually containing carbamide peroxide.
Good day

I personally don’t think it will work, because the stain from smoking is not easy to come off just by brushing, but salt is not expensive anyway, so maybe you can give it a try. I’ll advice you to visit a dentist to do a proper cleaning.

Kind regards

Dr Chun-I Lee
NO! Salt is too abrasive for the teeth and it will cause more harm.
It may remove some surface stains but the abrasiveness of salt may damage enamel more than doing any good in longer run.
I never came across any study confirming that salt brightens teeth, so I would not do it. Thanks for your question.
I would not recommend doing this as salt is very abrasive and it can cause irreversible damage to the enamel of your teeth. There are better options to whiten teeth and every case is specific. I suggest to talk to your dentist and find out what would work best for you.