Activated charcoal is one of Mother Nature’s powerful multifaceted materials. Charcoal has numerous benefits and has long been used in medicine and cosmetics. However, can activated charcoal safely whiten teeth? There’s no formal evidence that activated charcoal whitens teeth. However, the rationale for using activated charcoal on teeth revolves around the absorption qualities of charcoal, which means it pull out stain causing bacteria, and toxins from our mouth. Think of it as “sponge,” extracting stains off your teeth. One down side to activated carbon when used on the teeth is that it’s grainy and can potentially cause damage due to its grainy makeup. Granted, all toothpastes rely on mild abrasion to remove surface stains, however direct application of the grainy abrasive charcoal can actually scratch the surface of your teeth. Thus, activated carbon can potentially cause damage due to its grainy substance. The FDA has approved activated carbon for many health uses. Activated carbon has great benefits, in trapping impurities and harmful substances in water filtration and absorbing toxins and poisons. Because activated charcoal has a negative electrical charge, it attracts positively charged molecules. Toxins and gases have a positive charge, causing them to be absorbed by the charcoal.
