# Brushing teeth with baking soda **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2002, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-with-baking-soda/131649 "2002-10-10T09:42:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cosmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/54ee81/32.png) [@Cosmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-with-baking-soda/131649/1 "2002-10-10T09:42:49Z")
I know certain types of toothpaste contain baking soda as a whitening agent. What I want to know is: Wouldn’t brushing with pure baking soda be even more effective? Is there any danger to brushing with baking soda? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-with-baking-soda/131649/2 "2002-10-10T09:59:55Z")
Pure baking soda can be irritating to the gums (I speak from experience) It tastes gross (but you can get used to it) Ihave heard that if you scrub too vigorously and obsessively with the stuff you can either damage the enamel, or your gums. Then again, you could probably do the same with regular toothpaste, it’s just more likely to happen with the baking soda. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/54ee81/32.png) [@Cosmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-teeth-with-baking-soda/131649/3 "2002-10-10T10:51:55Z")
I haven’t noticed any irritation, but it’s the damage to the enamel part that I’m worried about… ☹