Advice on best toothpaste please

Horace

I use some stuff called Dentalux with herbs that I get from Lidl - costs me about 79p a tube. My gums and general tooth health have improved since I started using it - no fillings at any of my dental check ups. One tube lasts a long time because I only use a tiddly bit on my electric toothbrush and when not using the electric one use the same amount on an ordinary one.

pavlovs_dog

Toothsmith wrote: »

Another tip is not to rinse your mouth out at the end. Particularly before bed. If all those lovely fluoride ions are washing about your mouth all night, they will do more good than if they are flushed away at the end of the brushing.

when (if at all) do you recommend the use of mouthwash then?

Toothsmith

A fluoride mouthwash is generally useful a few times a week.

Antiseptic mouthwashes - have their place for specific conditions, but only really short term. Long term general use probably causes more problems than it solves.

crocodileteeth

Since first reading this website in June we have downsized on most of our shopping. Toothpaste hasn't been an issue and I now always buy Tesco/ sainsbury/morrisons own brand. All about 39p/49p
I buy the budget mouthwash, shower gel, foam bath & liquid soap too. I did try cheap shampoo but have had to go back to spending more.

Toothsmith

Ditch the mouthwash.
Waste of money.

savedmoney

Interesting thread, Thanks, to all posters.
This thread comes up first in a Google Search for "Duraphat"

My hygienist recommended I use Duraphat
Cost £5.25 from my dentist for the 75ml tube v.expensive considering thats
£7.00 for 100ml
whilst Colgate Total is about
£1.79 for 100ml
and Tesco Total Care is about
£0.50 for 100ml

It is meant to be used instead of your normal toothpaste I found that somewhat impractical since the guidelines are to brush for 1min and for 'best results' not to drink or rinse for 30mins.

I doubt my teeth/mouth would feel clean if I didn't brush for the normal 2mins and then didn't rinse/swish with mouthwash afterwards.

For now I use it only once in the middle of the day exactly as the guidelines state (1min, spit out no rinse for 30mins), and continue to use my normal toothpaste and cleaning routine morning and evening.

Toothsmith

The best time to use Duraphat toothpaste is just before you go to bed.

The thing you're paying for is all the extra fluoride in Duraphat. I you don't rinse out, then get straight into bed, that fluoride will be stuck to your teeth all night (As your salivary glands slow down considerably at night).

Why has your hygieist recommended it?

If it's due to problems with decay, then as well as the toothpaste, you need to look at your diet and the frequency of your sugar intakes. I hope she has gone through this as well?

If it's due to sensitivity, has anyone looked at you to see if you might be grinding your teeth?? That can often be a cause of sensitivity.

moomin_white

savedmoney wrote: »

Interesting thread, Thanks, to all posters.
This thread comes up first in a Google Search for "Duraphat"

My hygienist recommended I use Duraphat
Cost £5.25 from my dentist for the 75ml tube v.expensive considering thats
£7.00 for 100ml
whilst Colgate Total is about
£1.79 for 100ml
and Tesco Total Care is about
£0.50 for 100ml

It is meant to be used instead of your normal toothpaste I found that somewhat impractical since the guidelines are to brush for 1min and for 'best results' not to drink or rinse for 30mins.

I doubt my teeth/mouth would feel clean if I didn't brush for the normal 2mins and then didn't rinse/swish with mouthwash afterwards.

For now I use it only once in the middle of the day exactly as the guidelines state (1min, spit out no rinse for 30mins), and continue to use my normal toothpaste and cleaning routine morning and evening.

another option to using Duraphat toothpaste, if you feel you must rinse after brushing, would be to use a high fluoride mouthwash instead such as Colgate Fluoriguard. This can help both sensitivity and a high decay rate.Call up your dental practice to see if they would be happy with you doing this.

savedmoney

Thanks for the tips guys.

Toothsmith wrote: »

Why has your hygieist recommended it?

Sensitivity she advised giving it a try for one tube.
Decay is not much of an issue I haven't had to have a filling yet.
I have recently moved to an electric toothbrush since my brushing technique was a bit harsh so that would have been the main factor.

Been doing my Duraphat middle of the day routine now for the past week, it seems to work quite well.
I suppose a possibility is to ditch the mouthwash and use Duraphat instead of my normal toothpaste morning and night as per the guidelines, I only hesitate since it would be quite a considerable change to my normal routine.

Toothsmith

I would still suggest using it at night only, and not rinsing your mouth out afterwards.

Do it very last thing before getting into bed.