How would you like to brush your teeth with things like powdered bone, crushed oyster shells, or the ashes of animal hooves?
Thankfully, you don’t have to! Modern toothpaste is gentle and tasty unlike some of the other items used in ancient times. Archaeological finds suggest that toothpaste originated in Egypt over 7,000 years ago and it was made up of some unpleasant ingredients.
Whether it was powdered eggshells thousands of years ago or a tube of sparkly gel today, toothpaste serves the same purpose now as it did then: it cleans your teeth. Toothpaste loosens plaque bacteria, stains, and food debris from your teeth, but it benefits your teeth and gums in other ways, too.
'In fact, choosing the right toothpaste can help you reach your oral hygiene goals.'
But, what is the best toothpaste? In this guide, we’ll review six toothpaste brands that rank number one in their respective categories.
Read on to find the best toothpaste for you and your family!
Take years of stain off your smile with the best whitening toothpaste on the market!
Supersmile is the brainchild of “the father of aesthetic dentistry,” Dr. Irwin Smigel, and his wife Lucia. This famous whitening system is extremely effective and they’ve even capture the teeth-bleaching science in a toothpaste formula (if you want to know more about the brand you can check our Supersmile products review.)
The Supersmile Extra Whitening System includes a tube of the Triple Mint Whitening Toothpaste and a tube of the Whitening Accelerator. You use both formulas together at the same time on a dry toothbrush to clean and brighten your teeth. The toothpaste contains calcium peroxide and the accelerator has carbamide peroxide for the most intense bleaching treatment possible with toothpaste.
As a bonus, the Supersmile Whitening Toothpaste contains fluoride for added cavity protection.
Do you prefer to clean your teeth with something that’s totally natural, gentle, and chemical-free? Kopari Coconut Toothpaste could be perfect for you.
Kopari concocts and sells an impressive line of all-natural coconut-based personal care products. One of their most popular items is their Coconut Toothpaste. Loaded with the goodness of coconut oil, peppermint, wintergreen, and spearmint oils, this coconut toothpaste will leave your smile feeling bright and refreshed sans any of those pesky chemicals you can’t even pronounce.
Kopari’s Coconut Toothpaste is the best natural toothpaste out there since it strengthens tooth enamel with naturally-occurring hydroxyapatite instead of fluoride.
Activated charcoal toothpastes are popular these days for their combined whitening and detoxifying effects (that’s why this type of dentifrice is usually considerer as the best toothpaste for whitening teeth). CaliWhite’s Activated Charcoal Toothpaste is the one to go with if you’d like to give charcoal toothpaste a try.
This rockstar formula contains peppermint oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil, baking soda, and charcoal to give your teeth the deepest clean they’ll ever know. CaliWhite also has xylitol—a unique kind of sugar that actually kills cavity-causing bacteria! You’ll love the results you see after just one or two uses with CaliWhite’s charcoal toothpaste.
Do your teeth sting when you sip your favorite hot drink or take a big bite of ice cream? Dr. Brite has the toothpaste you need.
Dr. Brite Sensitivity Relief Toothpaste has vitamin C to boost gum health and clove oil to soothe sensitive teeth. Tooth sensitivity could actually be due to swollen and receding gums. Dr. Brite’s Sensitivity Relief Toothpaste can be considerer as the best sensitive toothpaste as well as the perfect calming formula for gums.
Banish halitosis with this invigorating and super-fresh toothpaste formula!
This toothpaste won the “Family Choice” Award for 2019. This lemon mint paste is powerful enough to banish bad breath and gentle enough for even little kids to use. It’s free of fluoride, alcohol, and dyes making it non-toxic. The formula relies on special odor-neutral compounds such as zinc acetate to freshen breath.
Your morning and night time routines are different. So why shouldn’t you have a toothpaste to suit?
Twice is an anticavity powerhouse packed with the scientifically-proven cavity-fighter sodium fluoride. This toothpaste duo comes in two unique flavors: a zesty wintergreen and peppermint combo to wake you up in the morning and a calming vanilla lavender blend to promote relaxation before bed.
How to brush your Teeth: Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Toothpaste While Brushing
Using your toothpaste the right way will help you get the most out of your product without wasting it, enjoy all the benefits, and avoid negative side-effects.
- Apply a pea-sized amount of toothpaste onto your toothbrush bristles before brushing. Toddlers and babies need only a rice grain-sized smear of toothpaste for their tiny mouths.
- Brush twice a day for at least two minutes at a time.
- Avoid brushing immediately after you eat since this can further spread food acids around your mouth.
- Spit out the toothpaste foam when you’re done brushing, but don’t rinse! The active ingredients in your toothpaste will stick to your tooth enamel and gums and keep working for the next several hours.
- Go ahead and rinse out if you’re using a teeth-blackening charcoal toothpaste, however!
Toothpaste Expiration Dates
Yes, toothpaste does have an expiration. It depends on the brand and the ingredients, but the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) require that all toothpastes have an expiration date printed on them.
'Expired toothpaste isn’t necessarily toxic or harmful, but it can lose some of its effectiveness over time.'
Ingredients can start to separate or dry out or some bacteria can get into the toothpaste and contaminate it.
While you probably won’t get sick from using expired toothpaste, your smile will benefit the most if you use ones that aren’t expired.
How to Use Charcoal Toothpaste
Now it’s time to clarify the difference
between normal and charcoal toothpastes.
Regular toothpaste contains mild detergents and abrasives like silica or baking soda to scrub away plaque. Some even have peroxide to bleach away stains. Charcoal toothpaste relies on crushed activated charcoal to both scrub out debris and to wick up stain-causing toxins from the plaque on teeth.
Normal toothpastes usually generate a white foam (or even no foam, at all) when you brush. But charcoal toothpastes create a thick black foam from all the charcoal dust.
Charcoal toothpastes can get quite messy! After brushing with one, you might find that your teeth still have bits of charcoal stuck to them. It’s very important to take your time while brushing with a charcoal toothpaste and then to take your time in rinsing it away. This is why many people choose to use a charcoal toothpaste in the evening before they go to bed rather than first thing in the morning when they’re in a hurry to get out the door.
So there you have it! Now that you know the basics of healthy toothpaste, you’re ready to choose the best toothpaste for your family.
FAQ
DIY toothpaste is very easy. You can make an effective toothpaste right at home with just a couple of ingredients like baking soda and coconut oil. Check out this post on homemade toothpaste for some inspiration.
Most toothpastes last up to two years before they start to lose their effectiveness.
Many toothpaste tubes come with colored squares printed on the crimped ends. Some people claimed that these colors indicated something about the quality of the toothpaste, but this isn’t true. The colors were purely for manufacturing purposes when the toothpaste packaging was being prepared.
The average over-the-counter fluoride toothpaste contains about 1500 parts per million (ppm) fluoride. The exact amount varies from place to place. You can also find fluoride-free formulas or request a prescription-strength fluoride toothpaste from your dentist.
“SLS” is an abbreviation for sodium lauryl sulfate. This chemical is a surfactant, or detergent, that lifts sticky grime and residue off of teeth.
Dentists recommend applying no more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on your toothbrush when you clean your teeth.
Some people do have allergic reactions to SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) and experience mouth ulcers or redness around their mouth after brushing. If you have a problem with SLS-containing toothpastes, search for one that doesn’t have this chemical in it.
The raw ingredients for toothpaste are collected and mixed in a factory under hygienic conditions. Which ingredients go into the formula depends on the company. Most popular toothpaste brands contain binding agents, surfactants, humectants, sweeteners, flavorings, preservatives, and other ingredients for therapeutic effect such as essential oils and fluoride. Tubes are filled upside down; they are cleaned, capped, filled with paste, and then have their ends crimped shut. Finally, the finished product is shipped out.
Traditional toothpaste packaging is convenient to use and cheap to produce and yes, it is recyclable. Not every locality has facilities for recycling toothpaste tubes, however. If you’re unsure and want to support a greener environment, check out toothpaste companies that produce biodegradable toothpaste packaging.