Toothpaste is a staple in everybody’s oral habits. I mean, can you imagine someone brushing their teeth without applying a dentifrice onto their toothbrush?
But what is it really, what does it do, and just how much can we improve our oral health with it? Wondering about the effect it can have on your teeth and how it can help you tackle some of your existing problems such as gum disease, plaque buildup and even cavities is a very good way towards the right direction.
What are the components of toothpaste?
The ingredients used in the making of toothpaste vary from brand to brand. But they are generally divided into active and inactive ingredients. Active ones are what fight problems such as tooth decay and plaque. Whereas inactive ingredients refer to what gives shape to the toothpaste: its color, foam, taste and texture.
Knowing this, here is some of the most used ingredients used in the making of a toothpaste:
Abrasives
Abrasives are what makes cleaning and polishing possible for your teeth. They do their job by helping you remove food and stains off your teeth without harming nor scratching our tooth enamel at that.
Binding agents and humectants
Of course, since our toothpastes come in a gel form, they need something to keep it from separating into solid and liquids. For this cellulose is what is used the most, others make use of xantham gums, sorbitol and alginates.
Detergent
The detergent in dentifrices is mainly for it to foam. Besides that, the foam is a great aid towards loosening plaque and food debris in your mouth and teeth.
Flavoring and coloring
You will see that there toothpaste is usually mind flavored. Though if you check the toothpaste for kids, there will be an even bigger array in kinds of flavors! These only make about a 1 to 5% of the toothbrush’s contents.
Fluoride
If your toothpaste is good, then you will make sure it contains fluoride. Fluoride is a very important mineral because it helps our teeth remineralize the lost tooth enamel.
How it can improve your oral health
I am sure that whenever you pay a trip to the pharmacy, or store, there is a good number of different kinds of toothpaste in there. Different kinds, brands and colors to choose from. Los Algodones dentists suggest that you pick one with fluoride in them, as it is always a safe bet.
But besides that, if you are suffering from something in particular, then you might want to check what options you have! We will list some of them so you might feel interested in picking them up next time.
Anti-decay toothpaste
This is what you’ll probably be looking at most of the time. They contain fluoride and at good amounts, so they really fight that decay. If you suffer from dry mouth (xerostomia), then it is worth to pick up as the extra fluoride will help against the tooth decay.
Whitening toothpaste
These are the ones with a higher concentration of abrasives in them. It is thanks to that that they are able to do a good job at your pearly whites, although it usually takes them a bit. Typically you can see some changes in shade after a bit more than two weeks.
If you are looking for whitening procedures, here in Los Algodones is pretty affordable! You may also want to check our price list.
Desensitizing toothpaste
As the name implies, this one is for helping tone down tooth sensitivity.
The toothpaste’s components help blocking and filling the tiny openings from your enamel leading to the dentin and nerves. So if you have noticed hot and cold foods hit you hard, then this might be for you!
Toothpaste for smokers
Smoking is known for not only causing bad breath, but also gum disease and tooth stains. So for that, there are toothpastes designed specifically to combat just that. It will help your gums be healthy as well as help with the tobacco stains.