Which is Right for You?
One of the most difficult things that you can figure out when it comes to taking care of your teeth is choosing the toothpaste to use. With so many different types of toothpaste available, how do you know which one you should get?
Do you get one that has additional fluoride or tartar control? Do the brands which brighten your teeth give them protection from tooth decay and gum disease?
Should you go to choose a brand that’s for sensitive teeth? Here are some tips that you can use for helping you find the right toothpaste.
The Basics
General toothpaste is available in powder, paste, and gel forms. No matter what type pf packaging the toothpaste has, there are some ingredients that you’ll find in every type of brand. These are ingredients such as:
- Abrasive agents – So that your teeth are thoroughly cleaned, your toothpaste has to have scratchy agents like calcium carbonate or silicates. These provide abrasion so that you can remove food particles and bacteria. If the toothpaste didn’t have these agents, the toothpaste wouldn’t be able to clean your teeth as well.
- Artificial Sweeteners – Since the ingredients like calcium carbonate and fluoride won’t taste good by themselves, the manufacturers of toothpaste put in artificial sweeteners so that the toothpaste tastes better. Even though most people think of toothpaste having a minty flavor, many brands have flavors like cinnamon, lemon-lime and bubblegum.
- Anti-drying agent – This is what keeps your toothpaste from becoming dry inside the tube.
- Thickening agent – This is what keeps toothpaste from running right off of your toothbrush. This is usually something like gum and molecules that are gooey and found inside seaweed.
- Detergent – This is what kills the bacteria that is on your teeth. This is something like sodium lauryl sulfate. This helps cleans your teeth and causes the suds that you see when you are brushing your teeth.
Fluoride Toothpaste
Fluoride is toothpaste’s most important ingredient. This mineral occurs naturally and it is very important to help your teeth from decaying. Because fluoride first was added to the country’s water supply before becoming a common toothpaste ingredient, the cavity number that the US reported has dramatically dropped over the past 50 years.
Plaque, which is the sticky bacteria film which resides in your mouth, feeds upon the sugars you are consuming to produce the acids that eat away slowly at your tooth enamel. Your teeth get protection from fluoride from the plaque acids because fluoride strengthens the enamel in your teeth and helping remineralize the areas on your teeth which have started decaying. Any toothpaste brand you choose should have fluoride in it. If you have a lot of cavities, it’s a good idea to get one that has fluoride protection.
Tartar Control
The main reason that you are brushing your teeth is so that you can remove the food particles and plaque from them. When you don’t brush or you don’t brush the right way, you are leaving plaque upon your teeth and it starts hardening and becoming tartar.
When this starts accumulating along your gum line, it makes it a lot harder to clean your teeth, as well as making brushing much less effective. As time goes by this tarter is going to become so hard that it can only be removed by a dentist. That’s why it’s so important that you go to the dentist twice a year.
Toothpaste that’s advertised as tartar control contains some active ingredients which will help with preventing the plaque from becoming tartar. These are ingredients including compounds like zinc citrate and pyrophosphates and sometimes antibiotics like triclosan so that the bacteria in your mouth is killed. These kinds of toothpaste are best for people who don’t go to the dentist regularly or who have problems with gum disease.
Sensitive Teeth
If you have problems when you consume cold or hot drinks or food and you have sharp pains, chances are that you have problems with sensitive teeth. This happens when your gums are receding from your tooth base and expose the sensitive parts of your teeth. When cold or hot stimuli hit the tubules, it will cause pain.
Toothpaste for sensitive teeth contain ingredients like potassium nitrate and strontium chloride that block the pathways in tubules that travel to the nerve center of a tooth. While effective, these types of toothpaste generally take several weeks of use before they begin to offer relief. If you suffer from extreme tooth sensitivity, you may consider using this type of toothpaste, which is generally lighter and less abrasive than tartar control brands.
Whitening Toothpaste
One of the things that most people notice is when someone has a bright shiny smile. Since everybody wants to have this smile, a lot of brands have started offering toothpaste that whitens as well as cleans. These kinds of toothpaste usually have peroxide and some abrasive agents which work to remove stains and polish your teeth. Even though studies show that these additional agents in the whitening toothpaste won’t damage your tooth enamel, a lot of the brands also increase problems with sensitive teeth. So if you already have sensitive teeth, it’s a good idea to stay away from whitening toothpaste.
Conclusion
These are the types of toothpaste so that you can choose the one that is right for you. If you have any questions and you want to know more about the toothpaste, it’s a good idea to ask your dentist. Your dentist will be able to suggest the right type of toothpaste for you based on your dental history and the special types of problems that you have have.
Questions about Cosmetic Dentistry?
If cosmetic issues are affecting your smile, the team at Island Coast Dentistry can help. Through a comprehensive evaluation, Dr. Skupny can tailor a oral treatment plan that is most effective for you. A beautiful, healthy smile can be yours!
Contact us today to learn more, or schedule a consultation online.