# How does this whiten teeth?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 10, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199 "2007-10-10T13:17:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199/1 "2007-10-10T13:17:46Z")

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So I saw a video on MetaCafe which describes mixing: egg white, mineral water, milk (I think buttermilk) and salt, then using it to brush your teeth. Supposedly it gives amazing results.

A) Does this work?

B) Why or why not?

– IG

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**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199/2 "2007-10-10T13:26:41Z")

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Could you just eat pancakes? Sounds about the same and more tasty.

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199/3 "2007-10-10T13:47:10Z")

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Hmm, well…egg whites have protein, buttermilk is very high in acid, and salt is an abrasive. Could be just the acid and abrasive alone gets a layer of gunk off your teeth.

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**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199/4 "2007-10-10T18:34:04Z")

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Any abrasive will scour stains off your teeth – and salt definitely qualifies. The rest is just window dressing. Ummm… maybe salad dressing 😉

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199/5 "2007-10-10T18:58:23Z")

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All the ingredients are colorless or white, so it stands to reason they would whiten teeth. :rolleyes:

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**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-whiten-teeth/422199/6 "2007-10-11T00:35:04Z")

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For years my father brushed his teeth with a mixture of baking soda and mint extract. I tried it a few times but I could never get all the baking soda rinsed from my mouth. I would be crunching on little bits of it for hours.