≡ Menu

Toothpaste Types for Oral Health

Toothpaste

There are as many types of toothpaste as there are types of toothbrushes and the selection of good toothpaste is just as important. Toothpaste contains active ingredients to help with your brushing to ensure great oral hygiene. But what is the best toothpaste for you? And what are the different toothpaste benefits? Let’s find out.

Types of Toothpaste
Different types of toothpaste contain different active ingredients for different things. One thing is for certain – all dentists agree that your toothpaste must contain fluoride. Toothpaste with fluoride helps protect your teeth from the acid found in plaque and helps make your tooth enamel harder and less susceptible to decay from this acid. It can also remineralize areas of the teeth that have started to decay. But what other types of toothpaste are there and what are these toothpaste benefits?

Anti-tartar Toothpaste
If the plaque in your mouth isn’t removed quickly, it can harden and form tartar that can build up under your gums and lead to gum disease. Tartar is very difficult to remove and often anti-tartar toothpaste is required. These toothpastes contain pyrophosphates and zinc citrate – both proven to be effective at tartar control and removal. Some anti-tartar toothpastes have triclosan added, an antibiotic that kills some of the bacteria in the mouth that are responsible for plaque and tartar build up.

Sensitive Toothpaste
Some people have teeth that are more sensitive than average and would be more comfortable with sensitive toothpaste. This type of toothpaste is designed for sensitive teeth and contains chemicals like potassium nitrate or strontium chloride. These chemicals take some time to offer real relief (sometimes up to four weeks) and work by blocking nerve pathways through the teeth that attach to the nerves, helping with sensitive teeth.

Teeth Whitening Toothpaste
Most people associate clean teeth with being pearly white and generally, it’s actually a good indication of how clean your teeth are. There are a few different ways to get your teeth white, one being with tooth bleach and another with whitening toothpaste, which don’t often contain bleaches. Teeth whitening toothpaste works by using abrasive particles or chemicals contained in the toothpaste that polish the teeth and bind to stained particles in your mouth to assist in pulling them off the tooth surfaces, creating the white teeth most people seek. If you’re worried about teeth whitening toothpaste being harmful to your teeth, you’ll be pleased to know that most tooth whitening toothpastes don’t damage your tooth enamel any more than other types of toothpastes.

Total Care Toothpaste
Total care toothpaste is unique in that it contains all of the functions of the toothpastes discussed in this article. There is no real downside total care toothpaste and using it often comes down to personal preference or sometimes cost. Sometimes total care toothpaste does not contain agents for use in helping sensitive teeth, so remember to check if you’re looking for that in your toothpaste.

{ 1 comment… add one }
  • Aravinda Vishnu September 6, 2012, 7:10 am

    Good article. Brief but rich.

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment