Tooth Whitening with Charcoal

You’ve probably heard of the craze of brushing your teeth with activated charcoal in order to whiten them. This seems crazy because the activated charcoal turns your teeth black while brushing, but people claim that this process results in whiter teeth. People have been turning to this method of whitening to avoid the cost of professional whitening, and for its simplicity, but is it actually doing the job?

While the FDA has approved of activated charcoal for other health-related alternatives, they have not included teeth whitening, and the American Dental Association has not published any articles mentioning its safety or effectiveness. Many people claim that activated charcoal is too abrasive for the enamel of teeth and can do more harm than good. Another point that some are making is that your teeth only appear whiter because they turned black during the process of brushing. The drastic change between black and white causes you to think your teeth are in fact whiter.

So far there is not enough evidence to determine whether using activated charcoal is an effective and safe alternative to professional whitening methods. It could become an alternative in the future, but right now it is seen as a potential issue of wearing away enamel that cannot be replaced without doing any real whitening.