Whitening toothpastes come in many shapes and forms, and sometimes it is difficult to know which ones are the best, or what qualities we should even be looking for that make a whitening toothpaste good. Each company swears by the same thing: their product is super efficient, super gentle, available for everyone, and is much better than their competition. Everyone cannot be the best, so we can be sure some of these are not telling the truth. Here are some qualities you may want to look for in whitening toothpaste that can help you decide which one is the best for you.
Do they work?
First and foremost, let’s be clear: whitening toothpaste is real, and using it on a regular basis can in fact make your teeth brighter and shinier. They can do so either by applying carbamides or other tooth whitening agents to your teeth, or by having tiny granules and microfibers that rub against the teeth and remove stains.
Active ingredients
The first step in determining whether or not a tooth whitening toothpaste is right for you is to figure out how it whitens teeth. If it is a question of active ingredients, try and find out what they are, and how your body reacts to them. Toothpaste manufacturers go to great lengths to make toothpaste that can be consumed by a large quantity of people, and is efficient but gentle. But this may not be enough, and you may need higher concentrations, or lower ones, depending on your oral health, your gums and how you react to these chemicals to begin with.
Granules
For whitening toothpastes with granules or micro-beads or microfibers, the first thing to check is what they are made of. Is it something that you may not want to swallow? Is it plastic that will not decompose and stay in your guts forever, or is it some kind of compound that you can digest? Also, the size of the granules is also very important: too small and all it will do is be swallowed, too big and the enamel may end up getting scratched.
Other considerations
The other things to consider are the same as with regular toothpaste: is the consistency to your liking? Although foam does not have any health properties, people tend to like or dislike foaming agents. How do you feel about them? Make sure that the toothpaste you use has high fluoride content, otherwise it may not be very effective at all.
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