Guide to Toothpaste
Toothpaste is an essential element in the care of your teeth. Used along with a toothbrush, normal or electronic, toothpaste works to fight decay, clean the teeth and provide fresh breath. Toothpaste, along with a toothbrush, is predominantly the best way to achieve a good level of dental hygiene. However, as with most dental products on the market, there is an abundance of toothpaste which is supposedly the best one for you. But, how do you know which one actually is the best for your dental needs? We are here to help you find the answer.
What does toothpaste actually do?
Toothpaste is a dental care product that works to remove plaque, bits of food and uphold tooth enamel. With the added ingredient of fluoride, toothpaste provides protection against tooth decay. It is easy to make the use of toothpaste a part of your daily activities, if it is not already a part of them. By way of cleaning your teeth twice a day you can have nice smelling breath and a winning smile. You should use no more than a pea sized amount of toothpaste when cleaning your teeth, and should supervise your child to make sure they do not use too much.
Key ingredients included in toothpaste
For the most part, each type of toothpaste will typically contain:
- Flavouring - Flavouring is a key part to making toothpaste taste good. Otherwise, brushing your teeth would be even more of a taxing event.
- Colouring - The same theory for flavouring goes for the colouring of toothpaste.
- Abrasives - Abrasives, such as calcium carbonate, are added to toothpaste in order to remove plaque, clean teeth and prevent discolour. Such abrasives need to be coarse enough so that they do not harm tooth enamel.
- Thickeners - Thickeners are added to toothpaste in order to give toothpaste its texture, and to ensure it doesn’t go all over the place when squirting it out of the tube.
- Humectants - As with thickeners, humectants are essential to giving toothpaste its texture. Humectants also make sure that the toothpaste does not dry out in the tube.
- Detergents - This ingredient plays an important role in the removal of bits of food and plaque from the teeth. Detergents also help to give you nice smelling breath.
Fluoride
Most toothpaste also contains fluoride. This is an ingredient that can help to stop the decay of teeth, but only when a small amount of fluoride is used. Fluoride, since being added to toothpaste, has seen cases of tooth decay plummet. Many regions in the UK put fluoride into tap water to help in the battle against tooth decay. The levels of fluoride will be relatively low as too much can stain the teeth. Children should limit their intake of fluoride, as too much can cause their permanent teeth when coming through to be stained. If you are worried about such matters when using toothpaste, then you can find out how much fluoride is contained in your toothpaste. Look for the letters, ‘ppmF’, which mean, parts per million of fluoride, and this will inform you of how much fluoride is contained in your toothpaste.
Different types of toothpaste
There are several different toothpastes available on the market. This guide may go some way to providing you with a basis by which you can judge which toothpaste is best for you:
- Standard toothpaste - Standard toothpastes contain minimal abrasives, detergents and flavouring to provide your teeth with a good source of dental care. They will also contain around 1,000 - 1,500ppmF. One such normal toothpaste would be Colgate Total.
- For sensitive teeth - Sensitive toothpaste contains many of the ingredients as normal toothpaste, but also contains elements like potassium chloride that can help to prevent sensitive teeth. One such sensitive toothpaste would be Sensodyne.
- Whitening toothpaste - Whitening toothpaste should be used with care as they can be somewhat harsh, though they can help to remove stains from the teeth. One such whitening toothpaste would be Colgate Total Plus Whitening.
- Children’s toothpaste - Children’s toothpaste will contain smaller amounts of fluoride to prevent the staining of the teeth. One such children’s toothpaste would be Colgate Smiles Children’s Toothpaste.
