We'd all love a pearly white set of teeth like on the toothpaste adverts.
They're a glowing sign of good health and will give you that film star smile.
But we all love drinking coffee, downing wine and smoking too much, which are responsible for staining your pearly whites.
So many people nowadays are opting to get their teeth whitened. Bleach will do the trick more than anything - but the treatments can be really expensive and sometimes your gums can be sensitive to the chemicals.
But there are a number of things you can do to get your teeth looking whiter that won't cost you the earth.
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Bicarbonate of soda
You can pick baking soda up for a couple of quid at the supermarket and while it's good for cakes, it can also help remove stains from your teeth.
Bicarb of soda is abrasive so will literally scrub many superficial stains off your teeth.
Colgate says you can make your own toothpaste with it by mixing it with water (making sure it's not too gritty) or mixing it with your regular toothpaste, which contains fluoride.
Baking soda and water works as it releases free radicals that break down stain-causing molecules on tooth enamel, explains
MDHealth.com.
But you should not use baking soda more than once or twice a week as the abrasive effect can wear down your protective tooth enamel. The best thing is to ask your dentist first.
Activated charcoal
Probably the weirdest one, but bear with us on this, but brushing with activated charcoal can make your teeth cleaner and your smile brighter.
If you didn't already know, activated charcoal is incredibly effective at binding to toxins in the body and drawing them out.
It is brilliant at binding to toxins like ingested household chemicals, medicines and other chemicals in the body - and some people use it to clear up food poisoning.
But it's also a
good way of shining those teeth up, apparently, without the need for bleach or abrasive materials.
The carbon gently pulls toxins from the mouth and removes stains. If you don't like the idea of brushing with it, there are toothpastes containing charcoal like Curaprox that are available.
Whitening toothpastes
This might sound obvious, but dentists will point you in the direction of a good whitening toothpaste. You can't go wrong with it.
There are two types of whitening paste - ones that are gritty and abrasive and scrub the stains off and other containing enzymes which stop more stains from forming on the tooth, according to Dr Joe Oliver in the
Daily Mail.
They won't make your teeth whiter overnight, but they can help get rid of stains on the enamel with continued use.
