How does your toothpaste stack up? I am often asked questions such as which tooth paste would I recommend? Or, Is brushing with baking soda ok for your teeth? Besides choosing a toothpsate that contains Flouride and that is ADA approved, one that also has a lower abrasivness is also important to find. This helpful list we found years ago will help you determine if your favorite toothpaste will be able keep your teeth healthy for years to come or if it time to switch to a paste that is much less abrasive on your tooth enamel. And low and behold, while baking soda alone does not have Fluoride that can prevent tooth decay, it is very gentle on tooth enamel.
To your health!
Roxzanne
TOOTHPASTE ABRASIVENESS
The toothpaste you are using may be wearing away the enamel and dentin on your teeth,
especially at the gumline! The use of “grit” in toothpaste is not unlike the use of grit on
sandpaper. The more grit, the more effective at removing stain and plaque. Unfortunately, a
significant downside is the destruction of tooth structure.
There is an abrasive index for toothpastes called the RDA Index. The higher the value, the more
abrasive it is. At or below 45 may be an acceptable balance between benefit and risk if you must
use toothpaste. Over 45 is a matter of how quickly the loss of tooth structure can occur based on
the RDA, frequency of use, type of toothbrush, and brushing technique. The most ideal
approach would be to NOT use toothpaste but rather dip your brush into a mouthwash. The next
best alternative would be to use only toothpowders or gels, which are typically less abrasive. If
you don’t know the RDA of your toothpaste, you can find out by using the consumer contact
information on the package or container. The following list gives the RDA index of just some of
the many toothpastes that exist today.
04 Toothbrush with plain water 91 Aquafresh Sensitive
07 Plain baking soda 93 Tom’s of Maine
15 Weleda Salt Toothpaste 94 Rembrandt Plus
30 Elmex Sensitive Plus 95 Oxyfresh with Fluoride
30 Weleda Plant Tooth Gel 95 Crest Regular
35 Arm & Hammer Dental Care 97 Oxyfresh Powder
40 Weleda Children’s Tooth Gel 101 Natural White
42 Arm & Hammer Advance Whitening/ Peroxide 103 Mentadent
44 Squiggle Enamel Saver 103 Arm & Hammer Sensation
45 Weleda Calendula Toothpaste 104 Sensodyne Extra Whitening
45 Weleda Pink Toothpaste with Ratanhia 106 Colgate Platinum
45 Oxyfresh 106 Arm & Hammer Advance White
48 Arm & Hammer Dental Care Sensitive 107 Crest Sensitivity Protection
49 Tom’s of Maine Sensitive 110 Colgate Herbal
52 Arm & Hammer Peroxicare Regular 110 Amway Glister
53 Rembrandt Original 113 Aquafresh Whitening
53 Closys 117 Arm & Hammer Advance White Gel
54 Arm & Hammer Dental Care PM Bold Mint 117 Arm & Hammer Sensation Tartar Control
57 Tom’s of Maine Childrens 120 Close Up with Baking Soda
62 Supersmile 124 Colgate Whitening
63 Rembrandt Mint 130 Crest Extra Whitening
68 Colgate Regular 133 Ultra Brite
70 Colgate Total 144 Crest Multicare Whitening
70 Arm & Hammer Advance White Sensitive 145 Ultra Brite Advanced Whitening Formula
70 Colgate 2-in-1 Fresh Mint 150 Pepsodent
78 Biotene 165 Colgate Tartar Control
79 Sensodyne 168 Arm & Hammer Dental Care PM Fresh Mint
80 AIM 176 Nature’s Gate Paste
80 Close Up 200 Colgate 2-in-1TartarControl/Whitening
82 Under the Gum or Icy Blast
83 Colgate Sensitive Max Strength 200 FDA recommended upper limit
87 Nature’s Gate 250 ADA recommended upper limit
Perioscript and Natural Dentist RDA levels were not available because the companies consider it to be proprietary
information. Epic, Young Living, Jason, and Peelu RDA levels are not available because the companies do not test them.
Credit for the above information goes to:
Ronald L. King, DDS Giang T. Pham, DDS St. Louis Park, MN