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Toothpaste worthless?

How about some manners about it?

If wandering around the house brushing your teeth ain't playing with your self, I don't know what is. If you have to do it in front of company, at least offer me a tooth brush and let me join you. What's that? You know me well enough to let me watch, but not well enough to buy me a tooth brush? Then how about you do a quicky in the bathroom, by yourself ?
 
Cuddles said:
I have to ask how flourinated water could ever make a difference. When I drink, I pour water down my throat. Unless people are trying to chew their water, why would their teeth be involved at any point?
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If you drink without any water ever touching your teeth (or small amounts staying in your mouth) at all, you have a very unique drinking style.

Plus most people will occasionally (purposely) "swoosh" water around in their mouth at least a little.
 
Cuddles said:
I have to ask how flourinated water could ever make a difference. When I drink, I pour water down my throat. Unless people are trying to chew their water, why would their teeth be involved at any point?
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You need more than flouride to build strong teeth, where do you think those other elements come from? Remember, teeth are made below gum line, and erupt fully grown later.

One misconception of flouride is that it helps adult teeth. It don't. I gets deposited in childrens teeth as the teeth grow, beneath the gums. The stuff in the toothpaste is absorbed in your mouth, and some amount is swallowed, allowing it into the general circulation. Lots of it ends up in bones too.

So flouride is a good idea for growing kids. For us adults, we should have the municipal water supply add aspirin, to prevent heart attacks. And women need calcium, put some of that in. And teen age girls need birth control, put some of that in too. Pregnant women need folate. And our athletes need steroids, and our...
 
Serenity said:
I know it’s commonly said there are no advantages between electric and manual brushing with all things being equal in usage and intensity, but with my personal experience I’ve found that my brushing time and effectiveness has improved significantly using an electric brush. Best investment I ever made on my mouth. Manual brushing was so monotonous that I’d take shortcuts and brush less just to be done with it. With the electric model I found myself brushing longer (3-4 minutes) without all the fatigue that would normally accompany aggressive manual brushing for the same duration.
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This pretty much mirrors what Consumer Reports found on testing toothbrushes. Manual toothbrushes work at least as well as electrics if used for the dentist recommended two minutes of brushing. The advantage of the electric toothbrushes is that people are much more likely to use them for the full two minutes.
 
What about toothpastes for sensitive teeth, like Sensodyne. Are they really any different from normal toothpastes? Or are they psychological marketing at work?
 
I found it was worth buying an expensive toothbrush, just because I was more willing to spend time brushing with it. This means it cleans my teeth better, regardless of whether its funky shape is any better.

I suspect this is similar to the reason people brush longer with an electric toothbrush.
 
merentha said:
What about toothpastes for sensitive teeth, like Sensodyne. Are they really any different from normal toothpastes? Or are they psychological marketing at work?
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My dentist recommended it years ago. The temperature sensitivity went, but it took a year or two. (But was it caused by the toothpaste?).

I still use sensitive teeth toothpaste, but I buy the cheapest I can find (supermarket own brand).

Dave
 
merentha said:
What about toothpastes for sensitive teeth, like Sensodyne. Are they really any different from normal toothpastes? Or are they psychological marketing at work?
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Sensodyne does work, according to my cousin wot is a dentist. Apparently it contains a quantity of what (according to Google) appears to be Potassium Nitrate, which acts to fill in the small pores and cavities that allow the hot/cold things to penetrate to the pulp and cause pain. Anecdotally, it certainly worked for my wife's sensitive gnashers.
 
Serenity said:
I was also going to mention Triclosan--one of the reasons I use Colgate Total 12 Hour protection toothpaste—and read the same study. :) Its the only toothpaste I know to contain Triclosan (.3%)… same ingredient used in all types of antibacterial products from soaps to plastics.

Here’s another study on Chlorohexidine, the most effective of them all.

Too bad they don’t sell an over the counter Chlorohexidine toothpaste. It topped the charts, with Triclosan not far behind. Incidentally the Colgate website warns not to use Fluoride and chlorohexidine together… Some sort of negative interaction with detergents and fluoride in toothpaste.
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Well chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash is available from any good Chemist, look for Corsodyl.
 
Serenity said:
I was also going to mention Triclosan--one of the reasons I use Colgate Total 12 Hour protection toothpaste—and read the same study. :) Its the only toothpaste I know to contain Triclosan (.3%)… same ingredient used in all types of antibacterial products from soaps to plastics.
...snip...
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There is now another one out there however I note Colgate now claims their formulation is unique and it vital in ensuring the "total 12 hour protection".
Serenity said:
I know it’s commonly said there are no advantages between electric and manual brushing with all things being equal in usage and intensity, but with my personal experience I’ve found that my brushing time and effectiveness has improved significantly using an electric brush. Best investment I ever made on my mouth. Manual brushing was so monotonous that I’d take shortcuts and brush less just to be done with it. With the electric model I found myself brushing longer (3-4 minutes) without all the fatigue that would normally accompany aggressive manual brushing for the same duration. ...snip...
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Have to agree with this, however I do still tend to "scrub" my teeth - as a dentist once told me "you're meant to clean your teeth not scrub them!"
 
Does anyone else feel the elec TBs somehow aren't doing enough? Sometimes I tend to press a little harder than I probably should or do a little manual brushing afterwards.

PS what the heck did people do before flouride and brushing? Just have gross teeth that fell out at an early age?
 
The benefits of fluoride are topical. Fluoride is not an essential nutrient. Your body doesn't use it to build teeth. Ingesting fluoride has no benefit to the teeth.
 
Dazed said:
The benefits of fluoride are topical. Fluoride is not an essential nutrient. Your body doesn't use it to build teeth. Ingesting fluoride has no benefit to the teeth.
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That's what I thought, too. I use it topically, as it does appear to be good at killing tooth bacteria, but I've looked for the science saying it really has a benefit ingested, and all I can find is either the opposite, or stuff about how it changes bones in a way that doesn't necessarily have either a negative or positive effect.
 
What worries me is the impurities in the fluoride they put in the drinking water. Sure, maybe fluoride itself is harmless and 1ppm in the drinking water is fine, but what goes into the water is not pure fluoride. It's an industrial waste that contains many impurities, most of which are very poisonous. Lead, mercury and arsenic primarily.
 
Dazed said:
What worries me is the impurities in the fluoride they put in the drinking water. Sure, maybe fluoride itself is harmless and 1ppm in the drinking water is fine, but what goes into the water is not pure fluoride. It's an industrial waste that contains many impurities, most of which are very poisonous. Lead, mercury and arsenic primarily.
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Are you sure about the "industrial waste" thing?
I've heard that before, but when I've tried to verify it, I can't find it except in very alternative, wooish publications, and when I've attempted to trace their sources, I get a dead end.
I think it might be an urban legend, but I'm open to being corrected about that.
 
In the free state, fluorine is a pale yellow diatomic gas. Fluorine is never found in this form in nature, because it is very chemically reactive and combines with every other element except the inert gases. It is the 13th most abundant element, commonly occurring in the minerals fluorspar (CaF2), cryolite (Na3AlF6) and fluorapatite 1,2 (3Ca3(PO4)2-Ca(F,Cl)2). Fluorine is used in aluminum, steel, glass, enamel, brick, tile, pottery and cement manufacturing; fluorinated chemical and phosphate fertilizer production; and metal casting, welding and brazing.3,4 Sodium fluoride (NaF) is used in various pesticide formulations, including insecticides and wood preservatives.5 Fluoride-containing compounds are employed in the artificial fluoridation of drinking water for the prevention of dental caries.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/doc_sup-appui/fluoride-fluorure/i_e.html
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Note the bolded text.

In Canada, artificial fluoridation is generally carried out by supplementing raw water with NaF, hydro- fluosilicic acid (H2SiF6) or sodium silicofluoride (Na SiF )

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/doc_sup-appui/fluoride-fluorure/i_e.html
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In recent years, there has been growing concern with some of the possible adverse effects of water treatment, principally chlorination, but also the addition of aluminum and fluorine.
There are also concerns about potential contamination in the distribution system, either from the materials (principally lead) or from microbiological contamination as a result of leaks or cross linkages.

http://www.pollutionprobe.org/Reports/dwproceedings.pdf
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There's some minimal research to support my claim. It seems to be impossible to find an official documentation of where the fluoride that goes into our water comes from. I'll probably have to call the city to tell you for sure, but I think it is waste product from fertilizer and aluminum factories.
 
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