Are Natural Toothpastes Good or Bad For Your Teeth?
If you're looking for a chemical-free toothpaste, then you may be considering switching to a natural brand. Natural toothpastes typically only contain organic ingredients with none of the chemical content of regular toothpastes. If you prefer to use natural products on and in your body, an organic toothpaste may seem like a good option. What are the pros and cons of switching to a natural toothpaste?
The Advantages of Natural Toothpastes
From a tooth cleaning perspective, any toothpaste can effectively clean your teeth when you brush. This applies to natural toothpastes as well as regular products, so you shouldn't lose any cleaning advantage by switching to an organic brand.
Natural toothpastes are beneficial because they don't contain any chemicals or harmful substances. If you consider some of the ingredients of regular pastes, such as fluoride or the foaming agent sodium lauryl sulphate, to be potentially harmful, you can reduce your exposure to these materials by switching to an organic brand that only contains natural substances.
Doing away with toothpaste chemicals may also be useful if you experience tolerance problems or allergic reactions to regular toothpastes. For example, some people find that regular toothpastes make their mouths and gums uncomfortably sensitive; some also suffer from sores. Switching to an organic paste may reduce or eliminate these problems.
You can also buy organic toothpastes that contain natural ingredients that may help protect your teeth. For example, toothpastes that contain the natural sweetener xylitol may help you fight tooth decay; products that contain aloe vera may help soothe sensitive gums and combat gum disease.
While natural toothpastes have their benefits, they also have downsides to think about before you decide to switch.
The Disadvantages of Natural Toothpastes
The primary disadvantage of natural toothpastes is the fact that they usually don't contain fluoride. While this may not bother you so much if you believe that fluoride is a harmful substance, fluoride is still considered to be the most essential ingredient in toothpaste by many dental experts.
If you use a toothpaste that doesn't contain fluoride, you lose some of the advantages of fluoridation. For example, fluoride works with your saliva to strengthen your teeth and to help protect against decay. A natural toothpaste can't necessarily deliver these advantages in the same way that fluoride can.
Also, switching to a natural toothpaste may not be as quick and easy as you think. If you're used to using a toothpaste that foams and feels thick in your mouth, you may find the texture of organic products very different to the norm.
If you're considering switching to a natural toothpaste because you want to stop ingesting the chemicals and additives in regular toothpastes, then this decision may be a no-brainer for you. It may be harder if you're looking to switch because of sensitivities and are worried about losing the benefits of fluoride. In either case, it's worth discussing the switch with your dentist first. Your dentist can give you advice on how a natural toothpaste may affect your teeth and any measures you can take to avoid problems.