Full disclosure: I am not a dentist, periodontist, or any other kind of tist.... reviews, evaluations, recommendations are based on both personal experience and secondary commentary. I strongly recommend seeing a dentist or medical specialist that deals in dental/ gum disease. etc. I take no responsibility for any adverse side effects that occur when using any of the methods mentioned on this blog. 

Okay people, let's sink our teeth into part three of our teeth whitening tips series. For this episode, we touch on an inexpensive but effective teeth cleaning/gum cleaning combo.…… Hydrogen peroxide, and… Wait for it… Baking soda.

"What the hell you say Victor? You want me to stuff baking soda and hydrogen peroxide in my cake hole?"

Yes. Yes I do.

By themselves, they're very useful for killing germs and freshening breath. But, combined them together, and they are a lead-pipe-wielding, hard-hitting, #getmedievalonthatass combination; baking soda, as the stain killing abrasive, and hydrogen peroxide working as a germ killer with a touch of teeth whitening capability.

Make a mild taste of the two; approximately one part baking soda to one part or two parts hydrogen peroxide. Apply the paste to toothbrush or towel, gently rub over teeth, left, right, up, down, watch the corners and the angles. Leave on your teeth for approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Rinse out with water 1-2 times to remove the residue.

Of the three options I've tried so far, this offers the most promise of brighter and whiter teeth; at least among the DIY methods available…… But there is a catch.

You might not think of it this way, but baking soda is an abrasive. And being as such, it can rub down the enamel on your teeth. So it's recommended that if you're going to use this method with the baking soda, you should keep it down to either two or three times a week. As far as hydrogen peroxide is concerned, that also can wear down the enamel on your teeth as well, so, ideally, you also want to restrict the use of this term not more than 2 minutes at a time when using this combination together, or when washing your mouth out.

Granted, it will take more time to put the ingredients together, mix them up to the right consistency, and also the taste is going to definitely be very off-putting; especially if you're used to using very sweet tasting toothpastes. Take in small doses, and mentally tell your mind this is going to suck.....cuz it will. Put on your big folk panties, suck it up, and in no time, you'll be surprised at how much you've gotten used to it, as well as the benefits that you get from use the combo.

Just keep in mind the moderation – 2 times a week, , rinse thoroughly with water, and get ready for some nice teeth cleaning and teeth whitening, all for significantly less than what what you might have thought it would cost.

Additional tip: invest in an electric toothbrush – Of all the recommendations that I posted up so far, this is probably going to be the most expensive. But then again, in absence of anything else, this one recommendation can reap enormous benefits, especially if you are a smoker, a drinker of soft drinks or sugary drinks, or someone that doesn't brush their teeth as properly as they should.

There's a numerous electric toothbrushes of the market, and almost any one of them is going to be a decent alternative than what you achieve just by normally brushing your teeth with a regular toothbrush.

Combine a good quality electric toothbrush with the above-mentioned recommendation of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, and you might only have to do the process maybe one or two times a week; by virtue of the fact that an electric toothbrush is going to be a lot more efficient at scrubbing the way a lot of the gunk embed on your teeth because it works at a faster oscillating rate than what you could ever hope for to do with your hand.

Another advantage of the electric toothbrush, is because of the way it works, it actually forces you to work a little slower when it comes to brushing your teeth. Normally, we tend to take big up and down strokes, big left and right strokes, big work the angle strokes, etc. etc. But because electronic toothbrushes work at an extremely fast and minute oscillating motions, it actually requires you to work slower; focusing on one tooth at a time, at least, when I use one, that's the way it feels to me.

Granted, my teeth are no where near as white as I would wish, but they do look a whole lot better than they originally did when I was still smoking, drinking Coke's and Pepsi's, and just all around abusing my teeth.

You can find electronic toothbrushes ranging in price from about $40, only up to almost $200. I would strongly suggest that you do a Google and see what Consumer Reports, or some other websites recommend in terms of a good quality electronic brush. But definitely consider investing in one – you will be totally surprised at the results that you can get. And, you might could get to write it off on your taxes as a business expense for your acting career! :D