Choose Your Toothpaste By Category

My personal recommendation for the best toothpaste is at the bottom of this page… although, the best toothpaste is the one that meets your individual needs… categorically speaking, there are quite a few kinds of toothpaste… so choosing just one can be tough:

• Anti-cavity
• Anti-plaque
• Breath Freshening
• Brightening
• Children’s
• Enamel Defense
• Fluoride Free
• Maximum Strength
• Natural
• Sensitive
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) Free
• Strengthening
• Tartar Control
• Whitening

Some of the above categories strictly exist for marketing purposes as they are terms that translate well with the public, despite their redundancy or that they are gimmicky.

For example, children’s toothpaste may refer to that it is fluoride-free, or it may refer to a tube that has bright colors on it or the toothpaste itself may have a yummy flavor.

Another example, toothpastes marketed as “strengthening” may be redundant wording referring to nothing more than that the toothpaste contains fluoride.

TOOTH STRENGTHENING TIPS:

If you want to preserve the strength your teeth already have, which you do… brush softly and slowly so as not to wear down your enamel. Also, don’t brush your teeth immediately after eating sweet foods and/or highly acidic foods such as citrus fruits, as these substances soften the enamel, making it easier for you to reduce it by way of brushing. So, wait an hour before brushing.

So, in weeding through the categorical terms, I have reduced my list to…

• Fluoride Free
• Natural
• Sensitive
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) Free

I have included “fluoride free” on my list because I know there is enough naturally occurring fluoride in my drinking water and in the fresh produce I eat. There is no need for me to brush with a fluoride toothpaste. Some people might want a fluoride containing toothpaste. That said, fluoride is a toxin, and despite this true fact, it is added to the municipal water supply of many areas.

Assuming that we all use toothpaste to keep our teeth attractive, clean, and healthy without any unnecessary risk to our well-being… and if we are using the above categories as a guide,
by default I include:

• Fluoride Free
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) Free

While I do not have a condition known as recurrent aphthous ulcers, I also don’t want anything unnecessary in my toothpaste, and so I have included “SLS free” on my list.

So, the only real personal considerations I need make now, come down to:

• Natural
• Sensitive

Natural

Some people are purists in that they like products to contain only ingredients that naturally occur… in nature. NO synthetic substances or man-made chemicals! I like all natural.

Sensitive

Some people have sensitive teeth and can only comfortably brush them if they use a toothpaste that contains an anti-sensitivity or nerve-shielding ingredient. I do not have sensitive teeth. But for those who do… from Tom’s of Maine…

Except for Tom’s of Maine Natural Sensitive Care SLS-Free Antiplaque Toothpaste, all sensitive toothpaste products on the market today contain a synthetic form of potassium nitrate. The potassium nitrate is chemically synthesized from nitric acid, ammonia, natural gas and soda ash/potash. In our search for a more minimally processed alternative to this synthetic potassium nitrate, we have found a naturally derived source of potassium nitrate – a natural, technical grade that has been recrystallized and purified to meet pharmaceutical quality standards…. Do not use a sensitive toothpaste product longer than four weeks unless recommended by a dentist or physician.

At the original time of this article (August 2013)… it seems Tom’s of Maine isn’t making their sensitive toothpaste that is SLS free.

TOOTHPASTE INGREDIENTS

Besides water (making up ~ 20-42% of toothpaste), most toothpastes are made of a variety of components, the 4 categories are:

• abrasives
• detergents
• fluoride
• other ingredients

What Should I Know About Toothpaste Ingredients?

My Suggestion For Best Toothpaste

Tom’s of Maine Fluoride-Free/SLS-Free Botanically Bright Toothpaste

My reasons for choosing the above toothpaste are because, of course, that it is fluoride and SLS free… but also that Tom’s of Maine uses all natural ingredients, they are a charitable company, and their products are made in the U.S.A (quality control is important to me).

I do not have sensitive teeth, so I cannot make an honest recommendation to those who do.

The only real way to know which is the best toothpaste for you is to try a few according to your needs and discover which one(s) you prefer. Have a few different kinds of toothpaste and use them in series or alternatively, so your teeth and overall wellbeing get the benefit and do not have to rely too heavily on only one list of ingredients… and besides, it is enjoyable to brush with different toothpastes… sort of like not chewing the same flavor gum every time.

What is your favorite toothpaste and why?

Speak Your Mind!!!

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