Hydroxyapatite toothpaste

shandyclover

After spending a lot of time at the dentist recently getting an implant due to a failed crown, I bought some toothpaste online (I already have an electric toothbrush, the in-between teeth brushes, and a mini toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash in my handbag now).

Zing claims to have papain an enzyme to whiten without abrasion, and something called hydroxyapatite a mineral meant to repair tiny dents in the enamel. 

 https://zingtoothpaste.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooHGuQYwMmZ6zQ6sUMhdc7gm3FqAuON_-w_1oNyrxEwVfkeeMbV

Just wondering if any of our learned resident dentist have heard of these ingredients, or have I just bought into a clever marketing ploy? 

Exodi

Sounds obvious but I presume that you're trying to whiten the surrounding teeth, and not the implant crown? Crowns, veneers, bonding, etc can not be whitened.

Personally, I haven't looked at the specific toothpaste you've linked as I'm desensitized to the millions of miracle whitening toothpastes or enamel repair with magic ingredients that get churned out on an almost daily basis, the only one active ingredient I've seen that works effectively is hydrogen peroxide (commonly administered by a dentist, or via whitening strips which are unfortunately illegal in the UK).

As someone that also has implants, don't forget floss (unless you're using inter-dental brushes to completely replace flossing?). If there's no room for it in your handbag, feel free to swap it for the mouthwash

Murphybear

Papain is a proteolytic enzyme which means it breaks down protein.  I used to work in the  Blood Transfusion laboratories and papain was a common ingredient.  Sorry I can’t remember exactly what it was used for as it was a very long time ago.  

Toothsmith

At least that toothpaste has fluoride in it at a decent level - unlike a hydroxiapatite one that's supposed to be good for your gut that plagues my Facebook feed! Hydroxyapatite is the main mineral in teeth, and there is growing evidence that in a toothpaste it can help remineralise early decay. Nowhere near as much evidence as is behind the efficacy of fluoride in a toothpaste though - so I wouldn't trust a toothpaste with hydroxyapatite in that didn't have fluoride in just yet! 

No whitening toothpaste actually whitens your teeth. They can keep stains down, but that's about it. If the Papin breaks down protein, then it may well have an effect on the biofilm that coats teeth, which is the layer that gets stained by tea, coffee, wine etc. I Hadn't actually come across it before - but googling it does say it can cause irritation - so  although I would imagine the concentration is properly calculated to not irritate - I'd just be careful if you find such symptoms happening.

So in summary - this wouldn't be any worse to use than a standard toothpaste, but whilst possibly keeping stain down, it wouldn't make your teeth any whiter.