When someone first told me that I could whiten my teeth with charcoal, my first reaction was… “WTF?”

Immediately my mind wandered back to my father cooking steaks on our backyard grill. I began to have visions of myself taking one of the charcoal briquettes from the big paper bag and rubbing it on my teeth.

Yikes!

But after doing some research, I discovered that activated charcoal is actually very effective in whitening teeth (and it’s NOT the same stuff your dad used to cook hamburgers with).

Some toothpaste you find at your local health food store already has activated charcoal in it. So this is by no means a new revelation.

It was to me, however.

So I began looking for the best option when it comes to whitening with charcoal.

I discovered that you can use straight charcoal powder instead of using a charcoal toothpaste from your local health food store.

Once I began using it, I noticed my teeth were much whiter. Much whiter than they had been when I used a name brand teeth whitener.

How It Works – And Is It Safe?

Yes, it is safe.

According to Wellness Mama:

Activated charcoal is a highly absorbent substance. It removes toxins when they adhere to the surface of the charcoal. It is not absorbed by the body, but passes through the GI system, so chemicals and toxins bind to it, which then pass through the body and are expelled by the digestive system.
In the 1800s, two men took lethal doses of poisons (including arsenic) and survived without harm… their secret: they mixed the poisons with activated charcoal powder. (Stating the obvious: do not try to repeat these experiments!)

Activated charcoal is extremely effective at binding to toxins from household chemicals, ingested medicines, and other chemicals from the body, especially when taken within 30 minutes of ingestion. For this reason, it is a great first treatment for any kind of poisoning, but should not be taken within several hours of medications (or even vitamins) that DO need to be absorbed.

Using It

When you use the charcoal it’s going to make your mouth look like something from The Walking Dead.

However, don’t panic. It washes right out.

1. All you have to do is use a designated charcoal brush to apply the charcoal to your teeth.
2. Then lightly brush for a few minutes.
3. Then let the charcoal sit in your mouth for a few minutes more.
4. Rinse and spit and make sure your mouth is clear of any charcoal.
5. Use an additional toothbrush to brush any remaining charcoal.
6. Rinse and spit again.
7. Clean up the sink and make sure there isn’t any charcoal remaining in the sink (it can stain your sink).

That’s it. Before you know it you’ll be sportin’ some pearly whites!