Choosing A Toothpaste
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Gary S. Rafal, D.D.S.

The choice of a toothpaste is not as important to your oral hygiene as brushing often, properly, and sufficiently long. A toothpaste that combines a very mild abrasive and a safe detergent is the most effective way to clean teeth. If you add fluoride to the paste, dental decay and gumline sensitivity could be reduced. The fluoride can also repair beginning decay by promoting remineralization of enamel.

Some toothpastes contain harsher abrasives to remove tobacco stains. Although they can be effective, daily use may cause excessive wear, and produce areas of hypersensitivity. Do not brush with table salt because it is excessively abrasive. Baking soda, popular in the past, is not as effective as modern toothpastes. Unless some forms a great deal of tartar, tartar-reducing toothpastes show only a slight advantage over regular pastes.

Get a paste that you like the taste of, is approved by the American Dental Association, and then use it properly.