Advice on Teeth Whitening Discussion Thread

System

I suggest some further reading on tara's link for Toothsmith and everyone using fluoride toothpaste (people who like the nice shiny packaging toothpastes in the supermarket)

http://www.fluoridedebate.com/

Toothsmith

(That's water again Berba, mate - not toothpaste! - there's a difference, and even the anti-fluoride water people accept that toothpaste is the right place for it. Read up a bit!)

System

Toothsmith wrote: »

(That's water again Berba, mate - not toothpaste! - there's a difference, and even the anti-fluoride water people accept that toothpaste is the right place for it. Read up a bit!)

"Whatever"

hightara

i use baking soda, a little salt, sometimes a little peppermint oil

dip a wet toothbrush into the mixture, clean your teeth, simples and cheap.

hightara

there are lots of non fluoride toothpastes on the market, but many of them have other ingredients such as glycerin and sodium lauryl sulfate which should also be avoided.

best that people research and come to their own conclusions, plenty of arguments for and against fluoride out there.

Toothsmith

A known and proved effect of SLS can be an increase in oral ulceration in sensitive people, I agree. (There are also a lot of scare stories on t'interweb about SLS too)

There are SLS free fluoride toothpastes though. Both mainstream, and from healthfood shops. Sensodyne Pronamel for example is a very good SLS free mainstream fluoride toothpaste.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are some very good arguments both for and against putting fluoride in water (And as I said earlier, I'm in the camp that feels it shouldn't go in water now - unless people want it).

There are very few arguments in the anti water fluoridation camp against it in toothpaste (Unless you can find me some). In fact, one of the strongest arguments against putting it in the water is that the good effect of having it in toothpast for the past 40 yrs has had on decay rates.

The problem with the anti-water argument is that it has played too much on the poisonous effects of too much fluoride, that those who can't understand the arguments properly have extrapolated that into toothpaste, and feel that that is bad too.

But I repeat, even in the anti camp of the water fluoridators, fluoride in toothpaste is accepted as the place to have it.

hightara

in the list of ingredients, it has sodium saccharin

artificial sweeteners are a whole other story:(


have to admit, i do miss toothpaste so got a little excited there toothsmith

brook2jack

The fluoride versions of these might be worth trying http://www.kingfishertoothpaste.com/flavours.html and I'm not sure if toms of Maine do a fluoride sls and sweetner free.
Aldi do cheap ownbrand herb toothpaste that is sls free worth investigating. Pardon me it's lidl and called herbalux

hightara

thanks brook, will have a look

Toothsmith

hightara wrote: »

in the list of ingredients, it has sodium saccharin

artificial sweeteners are a whole other story:(


have to admit, i do miss toothpaste so got a little excited there toothsmith

Do artificial sweeteners actually matter if you're spitting them out? There will be relatively little in a 'portion' of toothpaste, and the vast majority of that will go down the sink.

I don't want to get drawn into the scientific basis of the artificial sweetener stories, but I'm not aware of any of them being worried about a very tiny amount just being around the mouth?