A Few Tips for Choosing Toothpaste
September 21, 2018
It feels like every day a new toothpaste is on the shelves at the supermarket. The bright packaging with buzzwords like “whitening” or “freshening” can make it downright challenging to pick the right toothpaste for your smile’s needs. If you are inside a store in Kansas City, MO, shopping for toothpaste, we hope you will remember these tips for choosing the right one. If you are the person in your family or household making the toothpaste decisions, your choice becomes even more important because it impacts more than just your own smile.
Read Those Ingredients
Reading ingredients can be confusing. There are words that you might not have heard of anywhere else. How do you decipher which ingredients are helpful or not? The first thing to look for is the word “fluoride” because the American Dental Association agrees that it is an essential ingredient for toothpaste. If your dentist has told you that your enamel is eroding or if your teeth are sensitive, you may want to avoid any toothpastes containing calcium carbonate, as it is erosive. If you are prone to canker sores or mouth ulcers, you should avoid sodium lauryl sulfate, as it is a detergent that aggravate sensitive smiles.
Check for the Seal of Approval
Many toothpastes have the ADA Seal of Approval right there on the packaging. This seal of approval means it meets the criteria the American Dental Association has deemed important for a smile-healthy toothpaste. For example, one set of criteria is that a toothpaste must include fluoride to get the seal. A toothpaste may not contain sugar or any other decay-promoting ingredient to receive the seal. Products must also have scientific evidence to support the efficacy of the toothpaste as well as to back any marketing claims. Not all toothpaste brands opt to get the Seal of Approval, as it is a voluntary process, which makes it important to read the ingredients before making your choice.
What Kind of Toothpaste Do You Use?
Choosing a good toothpaste is important to your smile’s health. To schedule a consultation, call Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.