Good oral hygiene is a critical part of overall well-being – maintaining healthy teeth and gums allows us to chew food properly, helping to assimilate the nutrients we need. A bright, healthy-looking smile makes us and everyone around us feel good.
That’s why it’s so important to brush your teeth regularly, using high-quality toothpaste. Toothpaste – used in conjunction with a good electric toothbrush and correct brushing technique, helps to remove plaque, the sticky, bacterial film which builds upon unclean teeth, causing cavities, periodontal (gum) disease, pain and even severe decay and tooth loss if left unchecked.
Both electric toothbrushes and manual brushes use the same toothpastes. Although electric toothbrushes are better than manual, you do still need to use toothpaste with them. Now, let’s explore some of the different kinds available.
1. An All-Round Toothpaste for an Electric Toothbrush
For all-around protection, you need something that beats regular toothpaste: protects against bacteria, plaque, tartar, and decay; leaves your mouth feeling clean; prevents gum disease; fights sensitivity; protects enamel; whitens teeth, and freshens breath. That’s a tall order for one type of toothpaste to fill – but if you don’t have highly specific needs, an all-around product is your best choice.
Oral-B Pro-Expert All-Around Protection Clean Mint Toothpaste fits the bill and is recommended as the best toothpaste to use with an electric toothbrush. Its antibacterial fluoride is combined with unique, “active clean crystals” which allow you to feel the cleaning action as it takes place. The fluoride helps strengthen enamel – important if you want to prevent cavities and tooth decay.
By fighting bacteria, the mouth is less acidic and no longer an ideal environment for enamel and dentine-eating bacteria to thrive. Because Oral-B Pro-Expert All-Around Toothpaste strengthens enamel and prevents enamel erosion (by 2.5 times more than normal sodium fluoride) it helps reduce tooth sensitivity. It also breaks apart old tooth stains and helps prevent new ones, for a whiter, brighter smile.
You might have trouble with toothpaste falling off the brush head. This toothpaste from Oral-B has a thick gel-like consistency, which clings to the bristles, meaning more of the toothpastes stays on the brush and can be spread across more teeth.
Because electric toothbrush heads move at high speed, it’s common for toothpaste to spray everywhere or fall off. To prevent this, try a thicker toothpaste like Oral-B Pro-Expert and when applying it, make sure the toothpaste nozzle is in direct content with the brush, so that the paste is pushed deep into the bristles. This will ensure more of the toothpaste remains on the brush during brushing.
Also, do not switch the electric toothbrush on until the toothbrush is on your mouth and in contact with your teeth. This will keep your bathroom mirror from being sprayed with toothpaste and will help the toothpaste foam up in your mouth.
2. Whitening Toothpaste for Electric Toothbrushes
Whitening toothpaste is formulated specifically to brighten the appearance of teeth. Depending on the formulation, it achieves this with abrasives, hydrogen peroxide or enzymes. The risk of using whitening toothpaste which brightens teeth exclusively through abrasive ingredients and brushing action is that, over time, the enamel on the teeth may become damaged.
The thin layer of enamel protects a bony substance called dentin, which comprises the bulk of the teeth. Dentine is yellow in colour – so the irony of using abrasive whitening toothpaste is that you face the risk of damaging your enamel and making your teeth look yellower, which is exactly the opposite of what such toothpaste should achieve.
One of the best whitening toothpaste available is called JANINA Ultra Whitening Toothpaste – and it stands apart from other brands because its unique formula is low-abrasion, protecting your tooth enamel while its special enzyme-based formulation naturally and safely whiten teeth.
JANINA toothpaste contains the enzymes bromelaine and papain, derived from pineapple and papaya. These substances effectively remove stubborn stains, even of the more persistent variety, from coffee, tea, nicotine, wine and lipstick, and works really well with an electric toothbrush set to “whitening” mode.
3. Toothpaste for Sensitive Teeth
For sensitive teeth, special toothpaste formulations are necessary – at the least, to avoid further agony when eating or brushing – and in the case of better toothpastes, to repair the damage which is causing sensitivity in the first place.
When teeth are sensitive, the cause is usually a change in microscopic amounts of biological fluid which flow through tubules – tiny, tube-like structures which are present in dentine. When the flow of this fluid is altered, receptors on nerves can be triggered, causing the sensation of pain which is worsened by cold or hot, air pressure changes and physical pressure (such as brushing).
One of the best products for soothing – and healing – sensitive teeth is Ultradex Recalcifying and Whitening Toothpaste. It’s clinically proven to whiten teeth in as little as 2 weeks – but unlike toothpaste which whiten abrasively, it’s free from harsh ingredients; instead, it gently oxidizes stains caused by organic substances.
It helps prevent tooth decay, plaque and gum disease by killing bacteria and preventing their regrowth – and halts halitosis (bad breath), by blocking Volatile Sulphur Compounds on contact. It quickly relieves sensitivity by blocking tubules and rebuilding tooth enamel.
4. Toothpastes for Kids Toothbrush
Toothpaste for children helps young people get accustomed to brushing their teeth, for a lifetime of good oral care habits. The toothpaste that kids use needs to contain effective, clinically proven ingredients, but should also be appealing – that means a great taste and fun colours that help make brushing teeth enjoyable, rather than a chore.
You can even find kids’ toothpaste that matches the colour and style of a kid’s electric toothbrush.
Tom’s of Maine Children’s Toothpaste is a great example – the packaging is colourful enough to appeal to kids (but grownup-looking enough to make them feel special), has clinically proven ingredients to keep adults impressed, and is flavoured with real strawberries and other fruit juices. It cleans young teeth gently with natural calcium and silica.
Toothpaste made with all-natural ingredients is a growing segment of the dental care market. As with all things – textiles, food, cosmetics, even the materials our gadgets are made from – more and more people want to know that what they put in use, put on and into their bodies, and into the environment is safe, naturally sourced and less or non-toxic. Toothpaste is a perfect category to “naturalize” – it does, after all, get put into our mouths and then go down the drain.
All-natural toothpaste is just that – they contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and are usually devoid of fluoride. Though the addition (or omission) of this ingredient is a contentious subject that won’t be discussed here, the “natural” category of toothpaste is catered to those who would prefer to brush their teeth without fluoride.
5. Natural Toothpaste
One of the most – if not the most – natural of such products available is Redmond Trading Company Earthpaste – Amazingly Natural Toothpaste.
Just how natural is it?
Well, for starters, it’s made of clay – food grade “Redmond” clay to be exact, and very few other ingredients: Essential oils, xylitol, sea salt and purified water. Talk about “from the earth!” Despite the clay base, it doesn’t taste like dirt – the clay, blended with purified water, creates a familiarly “pasty” texture, which, when combined with the sea salt, safely and effectively cleans teeth, removing plaque and soothing sore gums.
The colour can take some getting used to – it’s a bland shade of brown – but it is, after all, made of clay. Customers praise the flavours – the essential oils taste exactly like what they are, and the sweetness of the xylitol is pleasant. Xylitol – sugar alcohol derived from birch bark – may actually help prevent tooth decay.
Toothpaste greatly increases the effectiveness of brushing – cleaning and polishing teeth, reducing the appearance of unsightly stains and making your breath fresh.
Today’s dental care market is filled with choices – you’ll have no shortage of toothpaste to choose from.
With so many categories of toothpaste, and a wide range of oscillating and sonic electric toothbrushes, achieving good oral health shouldn’t be a daunting task. On the contrary – the wide range of products makes it easy to take care of your teeth – whether they’re sensitive, still growing, need whitening, are plagued by plaque – or if you lead an all-natural life.
