Toothpaste is in all of our lives, and we use it on a daily
basis to maintain a healthy oral hygiene. Since this is the case it is probably
important that we pick the best and most effective toothpaste to use, one that
will brighten our smile, freshen our breath, and keep the cavities away. That
being said, charcoal toothpaste brands have been on the rise in popularity,
touting all of these benefits and claiming to be superior to the boring old
school toothpaste we all use. I myself once thought about giving it a shot but
decided otherwise before doing any research. First off, the most important component
of any toothpaste is Fluoride. Fluoride acts as a shield for our teeth and can
affect the metabolism of bacteria. This is primarily done by inhibiting enzyme
functions bacteria need in order to grow and replicate (Marquis, 1995). As long
as a toothpaste contains Fluoride, which most do, it will do its job.
Its also important to know that the mechanical force of brushing
our teeth is what cleans them, from that point on Fluoride acts to keep them
clean for a time. Charcoal toothpaste does both of these things, however
research has shown that beyond what basic toothpaste can do, there is no
evidence that charcoal toothpaste whitens teeth (Franco et al., 2020). Its also
important to avoid a toothpaste that is too abrasive which can cause a loss of
enamel over time and charcoal infused toothpaste is known to be one of the most
abrasive. At the end of the day, all of us as consumers would not want to be paying extra
for toothpaste that is not necessary.
References:
Franco MC, Uehara J, Meroni BM, Zuttion GS, Cenci MS. The
Effect of a Charcoal-based Powder for Enamel Dental Bleaching. Oper Dent. 2020
Apr 3. doi: 10.2341/19-122-L. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32243248.
Marquis RE. Antimicrobial actions of fluoride for oral
bacteria. Can J Microbiol. 1995 Nov;41(11):955-64. doi: 10.1139/m95-133. PMID:
7497353.
I agree with you when you say it's the newest way to brush our teeth, and so it has become more of a fashion or lifestyle statement than something that helps with tooth whitening. It could be based on the idea that Greece used charcoal for oral hygiene purposes (Greenwall et al., 2019). Essentially the idea that charcoal was used in ancient times so why not use it now?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I also agree that charcoal toothpaste tends to be too abrasive for some people. In my case, I have always had lower gum lines on my bottom teeth and thus the roots of these teeth show more than my top teeth. This impacts my brushing in that if I brush to hard or intensely my gums get more irritated or the root begins to show more since I have essentially scrubbed away my gums. To wrap-up there has been no significant evidence in regard to the benefits of charcoal based toothpaste/powder (Greenwall et al., 2019).
Greenwall, L., Greenwall-Cohen, J. & Wilson, N. Charcoal-containing dentifrices. Br Dent J 226, 697–700 (2019). https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1038/s41415-019-0232-8
Hi Kujtim,
ReplyDeleteI personally use charcoal toothpaste and haven't seen drastic changes when comparing using regular toothpaste and charcoal toothpaste. After reading your blog, it makes sense that as long as fluoride is part of the ingredients, it doesn't matter whether which toothpaste one uses.
What I found interesting was how charcoal is in some face masks and scrubs that essentially traps chemical and toxins when charcoal is exposed in high heat. I wonder if that's how activated charcoal works in toothpaste?
What Are the Benefits of a Charcoal Face Mask? (2019, August 7). Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/charcoal-mask-benefits#bottom-line
You walk down the aisle of the store and see so many different products and you get so many ads shoved down your throat online. It’s hard to tell what products actually do what they advertise. Charcoal is one of those ingredients that I have seen being advertised as a whitening agent.
ReplyDeleteMost whitening products are abrasive which can increase brightness and reflectance of the enamel, but this can cause early and excessive wear of dental enamel. In this study, after continuous use of different whitening toothpastes (activated charcoal, blue covarine, hydrogen peroxide, microbeads in oral B 3d white, and optimized abrasives) only microbeads, followed by hydrogen peroxide, and blue covarine showed significance compared to traditional non-whitening toothpaste. (Vaz, V., Jubilato, D. P., et al., 2019).
As we know, a good smile is highly valued in our society, and certain companies will take advantage of that and take your money! I think it is important to be able to research what products we choose to use.
References
Vaz, V., Jubilato, D. P., Oliveira, M., Bortolatto, J. F., Floros, M. C., Dantas, A., & Oliveira Junior, O. B. (2019). Whitening toothpaste containing activated charcoal, blue covarine, hydrogen peroxide or microbeads: which one is the most effective?. Journal of applied oral science : revista FOB, 27, e20180051.
I completely agree with you in being smarter consumers. Often times, we get so carried away with what we think we need that we don't take the time to consider long term consequences. Charcoal is primarily advertised as a whitening agent yet long term use can be both detrimental to our gums and the longevity of our enamels.
ReplyDeleteI came across this interesting paper titled "Effect of activated charcoal probiotic toothpaste containing Lactobacillus paracasei and xylitol on dental caries: a randomized and controlled clinical trial" however, was unable to attain access to it. I looked further into the topic surround bacterial flora in the oral cavity and came across some interesting studies!
Maintaining our body's microbiota is extremely important. This study found that "PerioBiotic toothpaste and Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste showed significant reduction in the number of participants who, prior to commencing the study, were diagnosed with a high number of cariogenic bacteria (Maden, E. A., Altun, C.,et al., 2018).
Using toothpaste a mode to deliver probiotics is something I never even thought of!
Maden, E. A., Altun, C., Ozmen, B., & Basak, F. (2018). Antimicrobial Effect of Toothpastes Containing Fluoride, Xylitol, or Xylitol-Probiotic on Salivary Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus in Children. Nigerian journal of clinical practice, 21(2), 134–138. https://doi.org/10.4103/njcp.njcp_320_16
Hi Kujtim,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated you talking about the key ingredient that everyone should really be looking for in a toothpaste: fluoride. Often times, I think dental professionals find themselves in tough situations because they want to cater to their patient’s wants (whitening), but need also need them to address more urgent concerns (cavity prevention). On a similar note, I think education is one of the most important tools that dentists can use to help others stay informed on the most beneficial products on the market—several studies seem to question charcoal toothpaste’s legitimacy as an effective and conservative teeth whitening product.
Epple, M., Meyer, F., & Enax, J. (2019). A Critical Review of Modern Concepts for Teeth Whitening. Dentistry journal, 7(3), 79. https://doi.org/10.3390/dj7030079
I loved seeing this post because I will admit that during the first COVID lockdown I succumbed to the Instagram algorithm and bought a tube of charcoal toothpaste. Mostly intrigued by the fact that it was the color black I was a one-time buyer. I am happy to hear that it does not treat your teeth any worse than regular toothpaste, but I carry a new found caution with me to always do my research before trying the "newest" and "greatest" product. This is an interesting issue for the potential dentists out there on how they educate their patients on the newest fads. In my opinion the most important thing is educating them on the facts and not entertaining the "sexy" claims. Overall, a great post and I am curious to how long Charcoal toothpaste will be around.
ReplyDelete