Keeping your smile bright and beautiful is not always easy to do. You might think you need to rely on commercial products with ingredients that you'd rather stay away from. Thankfully, you can rely on 4 different whitening solutions that are natural and will help brighten your smile.

1. Crunchy Foods

You should consider eating something crunchy, like a nut or an apple after a meal. These foods are slightly abrasive and should help remove any surface stains from your teeth. 

You should particularly pay attention to apples. Apples--in addition to their crunch--also contain malic acid. Malic acid breaks down the adhesive properties that stains and other stain-causing bacteria have. This should make it easy to brush away surface stains or for your saliva to wash them away. 

2. The Banana Peel

Brush your teeth with the inside of your banana peel. Just leave the banana residue on the surface of your teeth for 10 minutes. The potassium, manganese, and other minerals found in the banana peel should penetrate your teeth. This should help remineralize your teeth and make them brighter. 

3. Pineapple Dip

For this solution, you will need the juice from a pineapple. Dip your clean toothbrush into the juice. Brush your teeth with the juice, and let it work its magic. The reason that pineapple is good for your teeth is because it contains bromelain. Bromelain is an active ingredient found in pineapples. Bromelain helps attack stain-causing bacteria directly, halting their reproduction and ability to stick to your teeth.

To enhance the aforementioned effect, you can add a dash of baking soda to about 1/8 a cup of the pineapple juice. Baking soda is mildly abrasive, which should help scrape the surface of your teeth.

Remember that this ingredient and the others mentioned here are only meant to deal with surface stains. Stains that have penetrated your enamel can only be dealt with by your cosmetic dentist. 

4. Foods & Habits To Avoid

Try to avoid or limit the following list, or brush your teeth afterwards:

• Cigarettes
• Red wine
• Green tea
• Coffee
• Sodas
• Strong colored fruits or vegetables, like berries or tomatoes

All of the aforementioned contain ingredients like tannins that are strong and might stain your teeth. This is especially true if you do not brush your teeth or rinse with water immediately after consuming any of the listed items. 

As you can see, there are a few things you can do to keep your teeth as white as you want. Contact a company like Nittany Dental Associates for more information on the best foods for your teeth.