A daily hygiene routine such as brushing your teeth can be routine or therapeutic. It all depends on the toothpaste and its useful substances, in addition, not everyone knows how to brush their teeth properly. The vast majority of patients in dental clinics do not brush their teeth thoroughly enough, this is evidenced by soft or already mineralized plaque on the tooth enamel. Properly selected good toothpaste will help not only to cope with plaque, but also prevent caries, brighten enamel, and freshen breath. But how to navigate the abundance that is now on the shelves? It is worth looking into the matter carefully.
Traditional hygiene
From childhood, we are taught the habit of proper oral hygiene, and basically it consists in regular brushing with a brush and toothpaste. As an option, you can usetoothpowder, although at the moment it is less popular and can only be used at home - a good toothpaste in a small package is more suitable when traveling.
However, with age, it may turn out that daily care is not enough. Acquired habits are largely to blame for this - smoking, addiction to drinks that stain tooth enamel (strong tea or coffee). Good advice can be given by a dental hygienist, who will show you the correct movements for brushing your teeth and give recommendations on choosing a toothpaste.
Mass market toothpastes: good or bad?
While wondering which toothpaste is the best, shoppers tend to choose mostly established brands or are guided by unreliable cues such as attractive package design. However, not a single manufacturer will write on the box that the product is of poor quality, and the consumer is left face to face with a couple of dozen multi-colored packages. In most cases, retailers offer hygienic types of toothpaste, that is, a product for daily removal of soft plaque and fresh breath. With an absolutely he althy oral cavity, this is quite enough, another question is that such an excellent condition of teeth and gums is a rarity.
The category "mass market" is designed for mass consumption, hence the name of the product category. If you read the information on the tubes and boxes, you can find four main categories:preventive, curative, treatment-and-prophylactic and whitening toothpaste. If we are just talking about removing dark plaque from enamel, then it can be difficult to figure out what a good whitening toothpaste is. You need to remember about the mode of use of this hygiene product. Conventional whitening paste contains fine abrasive particles, so it can be used once or twice a week, not more often, otherwise it will negatively affect the quality of the tooth enamel.
Special treatment and prophylactic toothpastes
If there are minor problems with teeth or gums, then instead of the usual daily one, it is better to use therapeutic and prophylactic toothpaste. The composition usually includes extracts of various medicinal herbs, propolis, honey. If you need the best toothpaste from the category of treatment and prevention, then it is better to get an exhaustive consultation from a dentist specialist. However, it should be noted that the content of medicinal extracts in the composition of the therapeutic and prophylactic paste is not so high that it can be considered a panacea for all ills. Rather, it helps keep oral he alth under control and makes caries prevention more extensive.
For a good condition of the gums, propolis, coniferous extracts are introduced into the toothpaste, they have a beneficial effect on the condition of the soft tissues of the mouth. These formulations will not cope with periodontal disease, but they may well reduce the risk of developing this disease.
Medicated toothpaste
The composition of medical toothpaste necessarily includes all kinds of disinfectants, mineral additives that help restore tooth enamel. If the paste is designed for the treatment of gums, then its composition includes extracts of medicinal plants, tannins, which reduce gum bleeding. Thanks to the high-quality therapeutic component, a stable positive effect can be achieved with regular use of the product. The composition of the therapeutic toothpaste includes fluorides that enrich the enamel with fluorine, chlorhexidine, triclosan or hexidine as an antiseptic. Propolis, which is part of the toothpaste, delicately cares for the gums, heals even microscopic damage and has an additional disinfecting effect.
Even the best whitening toothpaste cannot replace a product specifically designed for treatment. Teeth can be perfectly white, but still require treatment and preventive measures to prevent plaque mineralization, caries or all kinds of oral diseases that are not directly related to the state of the enamel.
Best Whitening Toothpaste
He althy white teeth are considered a symbol of youth, they are compared to pearls, so it is not surprising that people strive to give their smile a sparkling white. Unfortunately, darkening of the tooth enamel can happen for many reasons. Addiction to sweet foods, tea and coffee, smoking - all this contributes to enamel staining. However, in some cases thisjust a coating that can be brushed off, especially when it comes to tobacco, tea and coffee.
Not so long ago, a special product Welcome appeared in stores - the best whitening toothpaste for smokers: it whitens teeth well, removes stained plaque from enamel. Such products are abrasive, that is, small particles are introduced into the composition of the toothpaste, which act in almost the same way as cleaning powder when washing dirty dishes. Abrasive toothpastes do not lighten the enamel, they erase the stained plaque, this must be borne in mind! Use them no more than twice a week, otherwise you can significantly thin the already thin layer of tooth enamel, because of this, the teeth will become overly sensitive.
Can you get used to toothpaste?
It is not uncommon to come across the opinion that the same toothpaste cannot be used all the time. Allegedly, the teeth "get used", the beneficial effect stops and you need to look for another paste. Dental problems that arise from time to time contribute to the maintenance of this myth, and patients of dental clinics have a legitimate question: "How is it, because we brush our teeth all the time, why do problems begin?" Therefore, people are starting to think about which toothpaste whitens well, which one will help cure caries or save you from periodontal disease.
I would like to note that toothpaste is not a panacea. Unfortunately, sometimes the development of caries or darkening of tooth enamel does not depend on the thoroughness of hygiene procedures. For example, such a phenomenon as “tetracyclineteeth - excessive doses of tetracycline taken in childhood give a persistent darkening of the enamel, significantly worsen the condition of the teeth. A dentist should treat these problems, improvised methods cannot be handled here. Properly selected good toothpaste will always work, it is not addictive, it is not necessary to change the brand of toothpaste!
Mechanism of action of toothpaste
The hygienic effect of toothpaste is due to the ratio of ingredients. Foaminess is provided by surfactants, chalk, calcium crystals, soda can act as an abrasive component, the latest development in this direction is silicate fillers. Compositions with the inclusion of sorbents contribute to the active suppression of microorganisms that can develop in soft plaque or in food debris between the teeth. The best whitening toothpaste, developed by technologists, not only cleans plaque, but also helps to soften and remove tartar. It is important to remember that even the finest toothpaste will not work if you brush your teeth incorrectly or with the wrong toothbrush.
Best toothpaste according to dentists
According to the ratings compiled after a conversation with professionals in the field of dentistry, the following types of toothpaste can be added to the arsenal of hygiene products.
Lacalut White is the best toothpaste according to dentists, made in Germany and undergoes extensive laboratory testing. Not only whitens, but also strengthens tooth enamel,enriches it with fluorine. The cost per package (50 ml) - from 150 rubles.
Paste for smokers and coffee lovers
Cigarettes and strong coffee quickly stain teeth in different shades of brown. At the same time, it is not the soft plaque that forms on the teeth during the day that is stained, but a resistant layer of tobacco tar and coffee coloring pigment is created. At the moment, Splat, Rembrandt, President and Silka toothpastes can be considered among the best in the "best whitening toothpaste" segment. Any of them whitens teeth well. The listed brands belong to different price categories, from 75 to 500 rubles per pack (50 ml).
Advertising and reality
According to advertisers and savvy marketers, there is no better way to prove the quality of toothpaste than to process half a chicken egg and dip this food product in vinegar. Of course, after such a massive advertising attack, inquisitive minds did not fail to test the theory with practice and rushed to test dental hygiene products. Of course, experiments have proven that Blend-a-Honey is really a good toothpaste, but it is unable to protect chicken shells from vinegar forever.
In most cases, the commercials shown on television reflect reality very poorly. However, there is one really significant factor that can prove that we have a good toothpaste in front of us - reviews, including professional opinions of dentists. This factor is based on actual data, on statistics, and not on a spectacular picture anddevelopments of marketers.
Toothpaste for the whole family
Often, in order to save money and simply for reasons of basic household amenities, consumers prefer to choose hygiene products for the whole family - everyone is washed with the same type of shampoo, soap, and uses the same toothpaste. Because of this, you can miss the moment for prevention, because the means of widespread use cannot be called highly specialized. In the question of which toothpaste is the best, consumers in this category are guided by the advertising picture as an indicator. If a family is depicted there, then a purchase will most likely be made. Usually this is a mass market - Colgate, Blend-a-honey, some lesser-known brands.
However, it would be right to purchase for each member of the family a tube of pasta that better suits his individual needs. These are, for example, children's paste for babies, whitening for a smoking family member (and then it can only be used periodically), therapeutic paste with propolis and oak bark extract for someone who suffers from periodontal disease.
Alternatives and feasibility of replacement
Despite the fact that toothpowders are already a thing of the past, they can still be purchased in stores and pharmacies. According to some buyers, it is the powder that cleans the teeth better. Also, imported oral hygiene products appeared on sale, which only remotely resemble paste - solid pastes in boxes, special sticks, in which you need to chew the tip and use it as a toothbrush without paste.
Can also be found on the shelvesquite a revolutionary product - black paste with an admixture of activated carbon. According to many buyers, this is the best toothpaste they have used to this day. Perhaps the formation of such an opinion is facilitated by the novelty of the product, the contrast with traditional hygiene products. It is important to remember that if in doubt, you can always rely on a consultation with a dentist - a specialist will give good advice and at the same time conduct a preventive examination of the oral cavity.