Why does baking soda whiten teeth?
I agree and disagree with the above answer. Baking soda and any of its changed chemical formulations or free radicals DO NOT penetrate the enamel of your tooth. There is no chemical whitening of your teeth by baking soda. Bleaching systems on the other hand do use acids to penetrate the enamel and free radicals to chemically whiten your teeth. The same thing happens when a dentist puts phosphoric acid on your tooth to open pores in the enamel prior to bonding to it. What baking soda does do is it increases the abrasiveness of the mechanical action on your teeth. That means it may take that coffee or tea or tar stain off your teeth a little better than just toothpaste alone.
