Choosing the right toothpaste

Going down the toothpaste aisle and choosing a suitable toothpaste can be a difficult task in today's marketplace. Most experts would agree that as long as your toothpaste contains fluoride, the brand you buy really doesn't matter. All toothpastes with fluoride work effectively to fight plaque and cavities. Of course, they also clean and polish tooth enamel.





If you have sensitive teeth, a desensitizing toothpaste should be used because the key ingredient, stronium chloride or potassium nitrate, protects the tubules in the teeth that are connected to the nerves.





In tartar-control toothpaste, the key ingredient is sodium pyrophosphate. This type of toothpaste will not remove tarter. It will only keep it from forming above the gum line. Prolonged use of this type of toothpaste may cause sensitivity in some people.








In baking soda toothpastes, the key ingredient is baking soda. Baking soda is a mild abrasive and may cause gum irritation after prolonged use. The only benefit to this type of toothpaste is that it leaves you with a fresh feeling in your mouth which can be an incentive to brush longer.





Whitening toothpastes contain abrasive ingredients that lighten teeth. These ingredients may cause gum irritation and sensitivity to teeth. They are also not as effective as the bleaching kits found in your dentist's office.





In an antimicrobial toothpaste the key ingredient is triclosan, an antibacterial agent. This type of toothpaste is supposed to remove bacteria that can cause gum disease but it will not remove existing tartar.