Do you stay loyal to your toothpaste for years? Or do you throw a different tube into your shopping basket every time you go to the drugstore? A dentistry professor reveals which is better and gives tips for the perfect toothpaste.
How do you find the perfect toothpaste? Dentist Stefan Zimmer holds the chair for dental conservation and preventive dentistry at the University of Witten/Herdecke and names a basic requirement that must be observed. “First of all, optimal protection against caries is important,” says Zimmer. “That’s why it should contain fluoride, in a concentration of 1450 ppm. That’s what it says on the tube.”
The perfect toothpaste depends on your needs
In the second step, he advises asking yourself: What exactly do I need? “Do I have a problem with tartar that forms quickly? Then I should make sure that I choose a product that can effectively prevent tartar,” says Stefan Zimmer, giving an example.
Do your teeth quickly become discolored due to coffee or tea? Then a toothpaste that brings back the natural whiteness of your teeth is a good idea. If you tend to have sensitive tooth necks, you can choose a toothpaste that is tailored specifically to this.
Should you change your toothpaste regularly?
The tip to change toothpaste regularly has been around for decades, as Stefan Zimmer observes. “It has been claimed that for a long-term, healthy ecological environment in the mouth, it is important to change products regularly.”
“But that’s not true,” is his verdict. When it comes to oral health, it’s much more important to use a product that suits your teeth and their needs as well as possible. Once you’ve found a toothpaste like that, there’s nothing wrong with being loyal to it for life – or at least for years. “Then there’s no point in changing,” is the dentist’s assessment.
The advice to change is based on the following idea: the bacteria in the mouth get used to the composition of the toothpaste over time, which means it loses its cleaning power. Stefan Zimmer points out, however, that toothpastes are not all that different: at least in terms of their basic substances, the products are very similar.
Stiftung Warentest and Öko-Test help with the choice
Toothpastes are regularly tested by Stiftung Warentest or the magazine Öko-Test – based on these results, different products can be easily compared. “And of course you can also discuss the topic with your prophylaxis assistant or dentist,” advises the dentist.
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