What is the Best Toothpaste?

So many toothpastes to choose from in the shops

Toothpaste is an essential part of maintaining a healthy mouth. It aids in removing food debris and plaque bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease. The shops are now stocking hundreds of different types, so which one would be the best toothpaste for you?

The most important ingredient in toothpaste is Fluoride, a substance proven to reduce your risk of tooth decay. Fluoride takes about 30 minutes to work though, so make sure that once you have brushed your teeth, you spit the toothpaste out but don’t rinse with anything after.

When it comes to choosing a fluoride toothpaste, it really depends on what you are looking for. So, here is a list of common toothpastes categorised by what they are good for.

Sensitive teeth

For sensitive teeth, you want to look for a toothpaste that helps to block the tubes in the tooth structure that connect to the nerve to prevent the sensation of sensitivity (it is always best to talk to your dentist to make sure there is no other underlying cause). Ingredients to look out for are ones such as potassium nitrate, strontium chloride, argenine or NovaMin and toothpaste that have these ingredients are:

Sensodyn Repair and Protect (NovaMin and potassium nitrate)
Sensodyne Rapid Relief (strontium chloride)
Colgate Pro-Relief (argenine)
Colgate Sensitive Smart foam (potassium nitrate)

Whitening

Any toothpaste that has whitening on the tube claim that they can help to remove staining and lighten the colour of teeth. The ingredients that do this have abrasive particles that remove staining (but beware as these can damage teeth), low dose hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide. However, there are restrictions on the strength of these ingredients in a daily toothpaste so some people may not notice a difference.

Best toothpaste for whitening teeth

Gum Health

It is the physical removal of bacteria with your toothbrush that really helps to improve gum health. So brushing the gum line with the bristles pointing at a 45-degree angle towards the gums can really help. There are however, a few toothpastes that can aid this to improve gum health. Ingredients that are antibacterial and hence help with gum health are triclosan, baking soda, metal salts such as stannous and fluoride.

Oral B ProExpert (stannous fluoride)
Colgate Total (triclosan)
Corsodyl Daily toothpaste (baking soda)

Colgate, oral b and Corsodyl toothpaste for healthy gums

My Favourite Toothpaste

I really like using the Oral b ProExpert, I find that is is the best toothpaste for me. I haven’t included it on the other lists but in addition to helping with gum health, it has many other great uses:

prevents staining, plaque and tartar from sticking to our teeth by forming a barrier that completely protects the tooth surface
It can help with sensitivity due to the stannous fluoride closing the tubes in the tooth structure
helps prevent bad breath as the stannous fluoride kills the bacteria that cause malodour. It also has a very pleasant fresh taste (I personally really like it)
It activates in water so you CAN rinse with water after which is great for those who can’t get into the habit of avoiding rinsing

For more information or want to find out what is the best toothpaste for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us at New Street Dental Care on 01264 301301 or email info@newstreetdentalcare.co.uk.