Are Whitening Toothpastes Safe for Cosmetically Altered Teeth?

Toothpaste on BrushIn our last blog, we discussed proper oral hygiene for people with cosmetic dental work. In the annals of history, people did not have access to mass-marketed dental products. They creatively gnawed on sticks in order to fray the edges into a sort of natural toothbrush. Naturally, even with shorter life spans, most people in those days were not able to keep all of their teeth for their entire lives. Fortunately, we now have great modern toothbrushes in every shape, size, strength, and color. Of course, you can scrub all you want with a naked toothbrush, but that will not clean your teeth nearly as well as when you introduce the brush bristles to a nice dollop of dentifrice, AKA toothpaste. Your Schaumburg cosmetic dentist, Dr. Brent Engelberg, will warn you against the over-abrasiveness of sometimes tempting whitening toothpastes.

So Many Toothpaste Options

Have you taken the time to count your toothpaste options at any supermarket or drugstore? Probably not. However, it would not be uncommon to see over 100 choices in the aisle of a well-stocked store. How can you possible decide which one will be best for your teeth? Do you focus on the look of the package? Do you opt for a particular flavor? Or are you more concerned with the features and benefits of a given product. If you are seduced by a toothpaste that boasts whitening capabilities, be forewarned that these over-the-counter products probably won’t be effective at brightening your smile, but can actually harm cosmetic dental work because they are so abrasive.

Whitening Toothpastes: Very Abrasive

The American Dental Association (ADA) gives something called the Hefferren abrasivity test to toothpaste before it can be mass-marketed. This complex test bombards extracted teeth with neutrons in order to label them with radioactive phosphorous.  A slurry by-product results from brushing these teeth with toothpaste. That substance is measured for radiation. While this may sound too complicated to wrap your mind around, the very accurate test provides the ability to gauge how potentially damaging a toothpaste could be to tooth enamel (or veneers, or composite resin, or dental crowns). Whitening toothpastes tend to get the worst scores in terms of being too abrasive for maintaining healthy and undamaged teeth. Dr. Engelberg has done much of the leg-work for patients by listing the abrasiveness of various toothpastes on the market, which you can access here.

Teeth Whitening from Schaumburg Cosmetic Dentist

Your Schaumburg cosmetic dentist can offer a variety of cosmetic dental treatment options, including safe and professional teeth whitening. To schedule a cosmetic consultation, call our 60159 cosmetic dentist office at 847-259-8030We proudly serve patients who reside in the Chicago suburbs of Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Schaumburg, Barrington, Long Grove, Deerfield, Wheeling, the 60059 zip code, and the surrounding communities.