Do you take your time when choosing your toothpaste, or do you grab whatever is on special offer? Many of us stick to a tried and trusted brand, regardless of whether or not it’s the best one for our needs. But picking the right kind of toothpaste could help to keep your teeth in tiptop condition, lessening the need for dental treatment, and who knows, it could even help reduce the risk of needing Kent dental implant at some point in the future.
What Is Toothpaste?
Toothpaste is a gel or paste or it can even be a powder, and is designed to help remove the build-up of plaque from your teeth. Over the course of the day a plaque bio film is formed over the surfaces of your teeth, and this is the sticky substance that you can sometimes feel or even see if you haven’t cleaned your teeth for a while. Its removal is essential as otherwise it will irritate and inflame your gums, and will increase the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.
Most toothpaste contains ingredients such as:
– Some sort of abrasive designed to help reduce surface stains and to remove debris. This could be something like magnesium carbonate, a silicate or dehydrated silica gel, or calcium carbonate.
– Most toothpaste contains fluoride as this is helpful in hardening the tooth enamel, helping to prevent tooth decay.
– sort of additive designed to help keep the moisture in the toothpaste, and this can be sorbitol, glycerol, glycol or propylene.
– Various additives such as saccharine or other types of sweeteners help to flavour the toothpaste, making sure it tastes nice enough to use twice a day.
– Toothpaste also contains some sort of stabiliser that could be synthetic cellulose, natural gum or seaweed colloids. These are designed to bind and thicken the toothpaste.
– Have you noticed your toothpaste foams up when you use it? This is because it contains some type of detergent such as the sodium lauryl sulphate or sodium N-lauryl sarcosinate.
Toothpastes can be designed to help reduce tooth sensitivity and these can be extremely effective. Other toothpastes are designed to help remove surface stains and may contain abrasive agents or enzymes to physically brighten teeth. Whatever you do, don’t choose toothpaste that is too abrasive, as you could harm your teeth.
Dr Rik Trivedi and the dental team at Parrock Street are always interested in helping you achieve the very best oral health possible. If you’d like further advice on how to care for your teeth then simply ask at your next appointment, and you can book back that by giving us a call on the 01474 537191 or you can e-mail us on info@parrockdental.co.uk.