Plaque Removal with Balsamic Vinegar

Balsamic vinegar is made from Trebbiano or Lambrusco grapes under very specific conditions. While all vinegars have their benefits and uses, balsamic vinegar can be used to help improve your oral hygiene. If, that is, you're very careful with it, and you don't leave the vinegar in your mouth, since leaving the vinegar on your teeth might in fact have the opposite effect. Instead of clearing plaque and strengthening your teeth, it can actually damage your teeth.

Tonic and Cleaning

• In order to clean your teeth with balsamic vinegar, first make a proper tonic from the vinegar. Add a single tablespoon of vinegar to a full glass of water to dilute the vinegar. Rinse your teeth with this tonic and then spit it out and wash it down the drain. After you've rinsed your teeth (which should take no more than 30 seconds to a minute) make sure that you rinse them again with clean water to get all of the vinegar off of your teeth. Or better yet, brush your teeth. While the tonic will kill germs that cause bacteria and tooth decay, and which eventually become plaque, leaving vinegar on your teeth will damage your tooth enamel over time. As an alternative to balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar can be used to make the tonic with similar effects.