Selecting the Right Toothpaste for Your Family
Posted on 02. Jan, 2012 by Editor in Resources
As Dr. Conklin and his staff will tell you, brushing your teeth at least twice a day, along with flossing, helps prevents gum disease and tooth decay. Just as working out doesn’t really help unless you break a sweat, brushing doesn’t help fight the buildup of plaque unless you use a quality toothpaste. Selecting the right toothpaste for you and your family depends on several factors including: preference, taste, flavor, and effects.
What is Toothpaste?
The exact ingredients in a brand of toothpaste will depend on the manufacturer, and what benefits (soothing sensitive teeth, whitening, reducing gum inflammation) the brand touts. All toothpastes, however, will include the following ingredients:
• Soft abrasives used to clean your teeth and remove bacteria and food particles. These can include magnesium and calcium carbonate, hydrated aluminum oxides, and silica gels.
• To keep the toothpaste from drying out, manufacturers add glycerol or sorbitol.
• Seaweeds, synthetic cellulose, and gum give your toothpaste a uniform appearance and texture.
• Fluoride strengthens enamel and builds resistant to tooth decay.
• Artificial flavoring
• Detergents that makes the toothpaste frothy
Selecting the Right Toothpaste
With so many brands on the market, deciding which toothpaste is right for you can seem like a dizzying decision. First, make sure whichever brand of toothpaste you select contains fluoride. Besides being critical in helping you fight tooth decay, toothpastes that contain fluoride are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and must display their ingredients on the packaging. The FDA considers toothpaste without fluoride a cosmetic product, and does not require these brands to list their ingredients.
Secondly, look for the American Dental Association’s seal of approval. Products featuring the ADA seal have voluntarily undergone the organization’s product safety and effectiveness tests. You can feel comfortable about the safety of any toothpaste that features the ADA seal of approval.
Next you must decide what kinds of additional affects you’d like out of a toothpaste. If you would like your smile to shine a little brighter, you can try a brand containing a whitening agent. If you suffer from sensitive teeth, several brands on the market offer temporary relief. Individuals who wear dentures or who have fillings that require special care may need to consult Dr. Conklin to find the brand right for them. Remember, the number one requirement of any toothpaste you purchase is that it cleans your mouth.
Flavor
Once you find a toothpaste that meets your oral hygiene needs, you should look for a flavor that you enjoy the taste of. Fresh mint, spearmint, and peppermint are the most common flavors of toothpaste on the market. Children’s toothpaste, however, comes in such unique flavors as ice cream, bubble gum, and chocolate. Purchasing a kid friendly flavor might even help convince your child to brush more often. While the flavor of a toothpaste has no affect on its ability to clean your teeth, buying a flavor you can’t stand the taste of may discourage you from brushing as often as necessary.