Baker's Best of Health

I was looking at old family photos the other day, when I realized that my teeth just aren’t as white as they used to be. I guess they’ve been stained over the years by my morning coffee habit—and my occasional glass of red wine, too. To brighten them up, I’d rather not spend an arm and a leg at the dentist. If you’ve got the same problem, here’s a quartet of DIY tricks you can try instead:

• Crunch into an apple. The biting and chewing action will gently and safely polish away tooth stains.
• Chew on carrot sticks. They’ll sand away discoloration, and as a bonus, carrots are one of nature’s best breath sweeteners!
• Munch on celery. It can gently abrade away tooth tarnish. And the gentle burst of water that you get with each bite helps flush food particles and odor-causing bacteria from your mouth.
• Swish with strawberries. Fresh strawberry juice is said to whiten teeth over time. Paint the juice on your teeth and leave it there for 5 minutes, then rinse with warm water with a pinch of baking soda added.

These tips should help give the discoloration the brush-off—and your pearly whites will be pearly and white once again.