Your Guide to choosing the Right Toothpaste
So you have seen numerous commercials on TV where each toothpaste is marketed as being better than the next. This leads to enough confusion as it is. Now people have started jumping on the ‘organic/ natural’ bandwagon and have started using a herbal toothpaste. Ideally your dentist will able to look at your teeth and after discussing your personal preference ( flavour, intention etc) will be able to recommend what you need to be using. Now if you are at the supermarket and are confused by the plethora of options in front of you- we want to give you some information to make your decision easier.
All toothpastes have more or less the same type of ingredients-
Detergents- not exactly the soapy detergents you are thinking about! Honestly manufacturers add it to just increase the foam and its not a vital ingredient. It is upto you if you want it in your toothpaste or not.
Flavours- This is just to make it more ‘palatable’ if you will. The most popular one being mint. You can choose from a range of flavours including strawberry , bubblegum, grape etc.
Abrasive- Mild fine grit abrasives like silicates and calcium carbonate are always added to toothpaste to help it remove food and stains. Just make sure that the toothpaste you are using isn’t a strong / hard abrasive (eg- activated charcoal!) which can damage your teeth.
Thickeners- this is just added to make sure the toothpaste doesn’t fall of your brush because honestly who wants that?
Glycerin- this is to prevent toothpaste from drying out.
Now that you have an idea about the common ingredients in toothpaste, lets have a look at some specific applications.
For Sensitivity- The most common query we get is for a desensitising toothpaste. Usually they contain ingredients like potassium nitrate or strontium chloride which forms a protective barrier on the tooth and prevents temperature changes from causing discomfort.
For Whitening- Everyone wants brighter ‘whiter’ teeth. These toothpastes mostly contain ingredients like hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide to whiten teeth. These toothpastes while are definitely safe- prolonged usage is not good.
For tartar/ calculus control- Usually such toothpastes contain pyrophosphates and zinc citrate which removes plaque.
The one ingredient that should always be in your toothpaste is fluoride . It is a naturally occurring mineral in bones and teeth and is essentially a tooth ‘lifesaver’. Fluoride helps in remineralisation when bacteria tries to break down your enamel which can lead to tooth decay. Flouride reverses this effect and results in stronger tooth enamel.
There are so many articles on the use of fluoridated toothpaste which concerns people who then switch to herbal remedies. Honestly we are against so-called organic toothpaste which does nothing for teeth cleaning. We do not see any benefits of such pastes and advice that you meet our specialists at Summit Dental Clinic to know more.
Stay tuned next time when we delve into the bad world of herbal toothpaste and address some concerns you may have about flouride.