Question For Dentists re Toothpaste

poorly_scammo

Just been thinking about toothpaste (as one does!) and was wondering the following:

A) Is own brand toothpaste (assuming it isn't a brand name in a different tube and box) or 'cheap' toothpaste just as good as the likes of Aquafresh, Colgate etc?

Are the likes of Colgate, Aquafresh etc. more or less all the same in terms of quality and 'goodness' for one's teeth?

I remember a few years ago an article warning people about cheap sunscreens; telling them that they might not be as protective as people think and that customers should buy the branded stuff. (That was the gist anyway) Does this sort of thing apply to toothpaste too?

and C) are there standards for toothpaste beyond the usual Trades Description Act? Do they have to contain certain amounts of fluoride for example? I believe they do but can't remember exactly...

I won't be seeing my dentist until October so I cannot ask him until then and I'm impatient. Just so you're aware, I have no fillings or problems with my teeth. I'm just curious to know.

Thanks

Humphrey10

poorly_scammo wrote: »

Do they have to contain certain amounts of fluoride for example?

You can buy fluoride free toothpaste, so I assume it's legal to sell it.

Fire_Fox

I'm not a dentist, but do consider the presence of sulphate surfactants (foaming agents like the ones in washing up liquid) in commercial toothpaste. There is some research suggesting these have a detrimental effect on gums.

brook2jack

For most people for most purposes a cheap and cheerful toothpaste, providing it contains fluoride, does the trick.

Whitening toothpastes do not whiten they are merely abrasive so they wear off staining (and enamel if you're not careful) but none will whiten.

Sensitive toothpastes work but you are best applying them thickly with a finger and leaving on, don't rinse out. In fact with all toothpastes you should spit don't rinse.

No toothpaste prevents / treats gum disease. You need to mechanically remove plaque with toothbrush, floss and interdental brushes and give up smoking. No toothpaste is a substitute for this.

A few people who are prone to mouth ulcers and are advised to should avoid toothpastes containing sls. Some people can also be sensitive to cinnamon which is a common flavouring.

People who have very dry mouths due to medication or other medical problems should use a very high fluoride toothpaste prescribed by their dentist.

Fake toothpastes with high levels of lead etc have been sold on e bay etc.

Finally toothpaste should be applied to adry brush it helps the cleaning properties and mouthwash should not be used for at least an hour after as it interacts with toothpaste, washes away fluorideand formost people is a waste of money.

Toothsmith

The main thing that does good in toothpaste is fluoride. It's probably the biggest reason for the improvement in oral health over the last 40 yrs, which is when it really started becoming a mainstream ingredient in toothpaste.

There is a legal maximum of 1450ppm fluoride which can be in a toothpaste that you can just buy off the shelf. Higher fluoride toothpastes are available, but are prescription-only (or sold only by dentists which technically is the same thing) These are generally only necessary for specific problems.

A little while ago there was a bit of a fashion for 'low fluoride' kids toothpastes, as there was a body of opinion that adult toothpaste might potentially cause problems if very young children swallow too much. The result of these toothpastes was that decay rates in kids started to rise again, so now, although you can still get them, kids toothpastes are ging back up to the higher level again, and the recommendation is t only use a smear of it on the brush of a child too young to effectively spit out. (But you don't need very much toothpaste on a brush anyway, even adults)

The recommendation now as well is that at the end of toothbrushing, spit out the toothpaste, but don't rinse out your mouth - the toothpaste has a more long lasting protective effect if traces of it are left in the mouth for a longer time.

So - the thing to be looking for on the back of the toothpaste packet is the fluoride level. If that's 1250ppm - 1450ppm then it's a decent toothpaste and will help protect your teeth. Anything else is really just down to personal taste.

As Fire Fox has mentioned above - things like sodium laurel sulphate are the foaming agents in toothpaste. You can find a lot of scare stories about these chemicals online, and amongst the publicity of the 'natural' product makers.

In the cases of shampoos or soaps these may or may not be true, but to me they all read like the usual conspiracy/scare stories. BUT - a recognised and accepted side effect of these chemicals IS a possible increase in oral ulceration in suceptible people.If you're someone who suffers from mouth ulcers or a condition called Lichen Planus or generally sore patches around the mouth, then switching to an SLS free toothpaste isn't a bad thing to try.

Be careful if you do this though, as if you go to the health food shop and get the 'alternative' toothpastes, you tend to find that the fluoride too has been left out. A good 'mainstream' SLS free toothpaste is Sensodyne Pronamel.

Edit - Brook posted whilst I was writing this - apologies for repeatitions!

Fire_Fox

Toothsmith wrote: »

As Fire Fox has mentioned above - things like sodium laurel sulphate are the foaming agents in toothpaste. You can find a lot of scare stories about these chemicals online, and amongst the publicity of the 'natural' product makers.

To be clear, my information was not gleaned from commercial sites but from reading abstracts of published research papers and other reputable sources. As a healthcare professional I am well aware how much misinformation can be found on the internet.

brook2jack

Fire_Fox wrote: »

To be clear, my information was not gleaned from commercial sites but from reading abstracts of published research papers and other reputable sources. As a healthcare professional I am well aware how much misinformation can be found on the internet.

Then you will be well aware there are no peer reviewed papers associating sls with gum disease which some people might infer from your remark about a detrimental effect on gums . But there can be a link for some people who suffer from rou (recurrent oral ulceration) and use of sls (along with cinnamon,spices, tomatoes and multiple other food stuffs.)

A foaming agent is necessary to increase the spread of the toothpaste and the cleansing action.

Sls free brands include most of the sensodyne range, herbalux in lidl , and one of the superdrug own brands.

In terms of dental health I would certainly trust "commercial toothpaste" above "alternative toothpaste" which often eschews fluoride and instead relies on the healing powers of ingredients such as thymol,myrrh etc saying ,quite rightly, they have been used for hundred of years. Quite so. These would be the hundreds of years when dental disease was virtually endemic , unchecked and a major cause of pain and a major reported cause of death.

Fire_Fox

brook2jack wrote: »

Then you will be well aware there are no peer reviewed papers associating sls with gum disease which some people might infer from your remark about a detrimental effect on gums . But there can be a link for some people who suffer from rou (recurrent oral ulceration) and use of sls (along with cinnamon,spices, tomatoes and multiple other food stuffs.)

A foaming agent is necessary to increase the spread of the toothpaste and the cleansing action

Sls free brands include most of the sensodyne range, herbalux in lidl , and one of the superdrug own brands.

I am not responsible for what people might erroneously infer instead of reading what I actually posted. I deliberately used the word suggest, did not use the word disease, did not recommend a herbal toothpaste, did not warn against all foaming agents. There are enough studies to warrant mentioning IMO, not simply on ulceration. Will be interesting to see what dentists publish in the next few years, it was only 2010 that research was published on the negative effects of just 1% SLS on healthy skin.

brook2jack

Healthy skin and oral mucosa are two very different organs.

If you bathed healthy skin in saliva 24 hours a day it would quickly break down and become infected. Indeed you only have to look at the skin around the mouth of a constantly drooling baby to see the damage saliva will do to it.

The difficulty on posting on any of these boards is to make postings as unambiguous as possible. Not always easy on short postings.

Humphrey10

Fire_Fox wrote: »

it was only 2010 that research was published on the negative effects of just 1% SLS on healthy skin.

What on earth do you do with toothpaste! It's intended to go in your mouth, not on normal skin.

thehappybutterfly

Moving away from the more technical advice (as interesting as it is!), I can't see past Colgate Total I'm afraid. It's the only toothpaste that I feel cleans my teeth. I hate cheap toothpaste. I also use a prescription toothpaste with high levels of fluoride - Colgate Duraphat. I have a couple of extremely sensitive teeth and just rub some of this on after normal brushing.