2023-08-08 17:59:36
Toothpaste is an essential part of your daily oral hygiene program and along with a toothbrush and floss, it helps remove food debris from your teeth and gums.
Toothpaste ingredients
The American Dental Association says that toothpastes can come in the form of a gel, paste, or powder. While the ingredients vary slightly, all toothpastes contain the same general ingredients:
Mild abrasive: This material helps the toothbrush remove food residue and surface stains, and includes: calcium carbonate, silica gel desiccant, hydrated aluminum oxides, magnesium carbonate, phosphate salts, and silicates. Moisturizing: helps prevent water loss, maintains the consistency of toothpaste and prevents drying. Flavoring agents: This is what gives your toothpaste a little sweetness and a refreshing minty scent. Thickening agents: Also known as binders, these help stabilize the toothpaste formula. Cleanser: The foaming action comes from this ingredient, and it helps spread the toothpaste throughout your mouth, helping to clean the teeth. Among the detergents used to manufacture toothpaste: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sarcosinate to make foam that may increase the susceptibility of “plaque” and accumulations on the teeth during brushing. Antimicrobial agents, such as triclosan.
fluoride
Fluoride is a natural cavity fighter that helps strengthen tooth enamel and fight tooth decay. Not all toothpastes contain fluoride. Always make sure to use a toothpaste that contains this cavity-fighting mineral.
Usually, toothpaste for adults and children over 8 years old contains fluoride at a concentration of 1450 ppm.
All toothpastes that carry the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance must contain fluoride.
What types of toothpastes?
Depending on the purpose of the putty, its types vary, including:
Children’s toothpaste: To reduce the risk of fluorosis, these toothpastes contain a fluoride concentration of 500 or 1000 ppm. Consult your doctor about the appropriate focus for your child’s teeth. Gum paste: It contains effective ingredients that can fight “plaque” and gingivitis, which is an early form of gum disease. Whitening paste: It contains chemical agents, or special polishing materials that help remove surface stains more than regular toothpastes. Sensitivity toothpaste: If you have sensitive teeth, you may want to consider using a desensitizing toothpaste, which contains compounds that help reduce sensitivity. High-fluoride toothpaste: It contains a high concentration of fluoride of 5,000 parts per million, and it is available only by prescription, and the doctor prescribes it for people who have a high risk of caries, such as those who suffer from a severe decrease in salivary secretion.
Children’s toothpaste
Brushing with a fluoride toothpaste has been shown to reduce the incidence of tooth decay in children. Conversely, fluorosis may result from excessive fluoride intake during the period in which the permanent teeth are developing.
Studies show that the amount of toothpaste swallowed is directly related to the age of the child, as younger children swallow more than older children when using the same amount of toothpaste.
The American Dental Association recommends that parents use a smear of toothpaste (about the size of a grain of rice) from the time the first tooth erupts until age 3. And from 3 years to 6 years, children should use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, according to the American Dental Association, and these quantities help reduce children’s exposure to fluoride from swallowed toothpaste.
Parents must monitor the child, and make sure that he spits out the paste and does not swallow it.
The best toothpaste
According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, fluoride is the most important ingredient in toothpaste, and it doesn’t matter the brand or type (paste, gel, or powder).
All fluoride toothpastes effectively fight plaque and cavities and clean and polish tooth enamel.
Some toothpastes provide tartar-controlling pyrophosphates to prevent the buildup of hard deposits on teeth, and others offer whitening formulas to safely remove stains, leaving teeth brighter and shinier. But fluoride is the real active ingredient that works hard to protect your teeth. Talk to your dentist if you have questions about the best toothpaste for you.
The benefits of toothpaste
Removing plaque, resisting caries. Strengthening the enamel layer that has been attacked by acids. Teeth cleaning and polishing. Remove tooth stains. Get fresh breath.
Is it possible to rinse after brushing the teeth?
Fluoride helps your teeth most when it is applied directly to the teeth, and fluoride that stays on your teeth for several minutes provides more benefit.
So when you rinse your teeth with water immediately after brushing, you reduce the beneficial effect of fluoride.
Some experts, including Oral Health UK, recommend spitting out any excess toothpaste or saliva after brushing, rather than rinsing with water.
And it is advised to leave the paste on your teeth, and try to avoid eating or drinking for 10 minutes or more after you finish brushing your teeth, and this is for adults.
As for children, it is recommended to put a smear of toothpaste for those younger than 3 years, and a pea-sized amount of paste for children between the ages of 3 and 6 years, then brush the teeth, then spit out the paste, then rinse the mouth with water, in order to reduce the risk of “fluorosis”. ” the teeth.
What are the benefits of fluoride for teeth?
Fluoride is a mineral element present in the environment such as water, soil and food, and is added in many developed countries to public drinking water (tap water). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that every $1 invested in “fluoridation” of drinking water saves the nation $38 in subsequent dental treatments.
Fluoride is absolutely necessary for the formation of strong teeth before eruption in the mouth, that is, during the development of permanent teeth. As for after eruption, it works by stimulating the remineralization of the tooth, that is, the return of the minerals that its structure lost as a result of the action of acids. Therefore, it is believed that it may stop caries and reverse it in some cases where caries is in its infancy.
However, these positive effects depend on the amount of fluoride being within a certain level. If it is less, the teeth do not get the beneficial effect of fluoride, but if it is more, it leads to “fluorosis” of the teeth.
Dental “fluorosis” is a condition that affects the tooth and leads to changes in the structure of the enamel layer. It is characterized by the appearance of white spots in a little fluorosis, and it may reach dyes or pits in severe cases. It results when children consume large amounts of fluoride during the period of development of their teeth while they are under the gums. , that is, before its emergence.
Make toothpaste at home
It is not recommended to make toothpaste at home; Because then it will not contain fluoride, and it may contain highly abrasive materials that harm the teeth instead of cleaning them smoothly.
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