The dental products that you use every day—toothpaste, mouthwash, floss—are loaded with ingredients that can help your smile stay healthy and strong. Today our Saint Louis dentists are giving you some more information about some of these commonly utilized ingredients. We hope that this information helps you better understand how oral hygiene products work!
One of the key ingredients in many oral hygiene products is fluoride. Fluoride is a natural mineral, that has been shown to support oral health. Fluoride helps your dental enamel to remineralize. Additionally, because fluoride strengthens your teeth, it can help to prevent cavities and dental damage.
When you brush your teeth with toothpaste, you’ll notice that the paste foams up and produces cleaning suds. This happens due to detergents! Detergents in toothpaste help you to clear away as much plaque and bacteria as possible. One common detergent is sodium lauryl sulfate.
Calcium carbonate/hydrated aluminum oxides/silica gels are also included in toothpastes in order to ramp up the paste’s cleaning power. These substances are abrasive (in a good way!) so they provide physical cleaning power; as you buff them over your teeth you dislodge and disrupt dental debris and plaque. When included in toothpastes, these substances are specially formulated to be abrasive without being destructive to your enamel.
There are also a number of flavoring ingredients that are used in oral hygiene products. Saccharin and sorbitol, for example, make oral hygiene products taste more palatable. When it comes to choosing a flavor of oral hygiene product, you really just want to make sure that you pick something that works for you—so that you’ll be likely to use it!
If you have additional questions about choosing oral hygiene products, our Saint Louis dentists are happy to help you make a great decision. Give us a call to speak to our team and schedule a consultation!