Have you ever perused the dental products aisle in a grocery store or large chain such as Walmart or Target and thought about which toothpaste would be best for your needs? This question is one of the more common questions I get from my patients and to answer that the best way that I can I would need to know a lot about your general health, oral health, dietary habits and so on. The myriad of toothpaste in those aisles can be overwhelming to the average consumer who may be looking at changing toothpaste. They have toothpaste that can whiten, detoxify your gums, cure sensitivity, repair enamel, specially formulated for kids, pastes, gels, etc.
One ingredient that almost all toothpastes have in common is fluoride. There are a few that do not, and for the purposes of this discussion, I’m not going to say too much about these. The main reason that fluoride is present is to act as an anticavity agent. Fluoride is important because it enhances remineralization of tooth enamel. Due to high rates of fermentable carbohydrate consumption in the U.S., dental caries are extremely common among all age groups. The higher risk of caries (or decay) in teeth within our population is the main reason fluoride is placed in the majority of toothpastes. Much of this risk is attributed to dietary habits as stated before. Most of the toothpastes in the past contained sodium fluoride as the fluoride source. Lately, many manufacturers of toothpaste are using stannous fluoride as a fluoride source. So, what’s the difference? As far as cavity prevention there isn’t much difference. Stannous fluoride has been shown to be more antibacterial than sodium fluoride, however, stannous fluoride can stain the teeth.
Another common condition in teeth is sensitivity. Toothpaste formulated for sensitive teeth usually contains 5% potassium nitrate as the active ingredient to combat tooth sensitivity. If you suffer from tooth sensitivity and have healthy teeth, then this type of toothpaste would be best to use. Some toothpastes will add triclosan to the list of ingredients. Triclosan is found in other products besides toothpaste, such as lotions, soap and deodorants, and is an antibacterial agent; yet is there an added benefit to placing it in toothpaste? I don’t think there is any because when cleaning teeth the idea is to reduce the bacterial population, not eliminate it. It’s not the toothpaste that removes the plaque but the toothbrush. It doesn’t really matter which toothpaste is on it.
Whitening toothpastes have mild abrasives in them to help eliminate or reduce surface staining. A few have oxidizing agents with peroxide. These toothpastes can increase tooth sensitivity if one already has sensitive teeth, so if you don’t like having sensitive teeth, then these are toothpastes to avoid. All of these products claim to whiten teeth but results vary tremendously. If your teeth are dark or severely stained these toothpastes may or may not help. Recently, there has been a trend in using charcoal toothpaste to whiten teeth. I would avoid anything with charcoal due to the abrasiveness of charcoal. These toothpastes tend to wear away enamel over time. So, what is the best toothpaste to use? My answer is still “depends.” It’s best to ask your dentist so they can help you choose.
Please give my dental office a call if you have further questions or want to schedule a dental consultation in Marysville, California. We can be reached at 530-741-9411, and look forward to assisting you with all of your dental needs!