October 23, 2024, 6:02 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Do you stay loyal to your toothpaste for years? Or do you throw a different tube in your shopping basket every time you go to the drugstore? A dentistry professor reveals which is better.
Have you ever heard the tip to change your toothpaste regularly? It’s been around for decades, as dentist Prof. Stefan Zimmer observes. “It has been claimed that it is important to keep changing products in order to maintain a long-term, healthy eco-milieu in the oral cavity,” says the Chair of Tooth Preservation and Preventive Dentistry at Witten/Herdecke University, according to dpa. “But that’s not true,” is his verdict.
Overview
Product should be a good fit for your needs
When it comes to oral health, it is much more important to use a product that suits your teeth and your needs as well as possible. Once you have found such a toothpaste, there is nothing to stop you from swearing lifelong – or at least years-long – loyalty to it. “Then there’s no point in changing”, is Stefan Zimmer’s assessment.
The advice to change is based on the following idea: the bacteria in the mouth should get used to the composition of the toothpaste over time, causing it to lose its cleaning power. However, Stefan Zimmer points out that toothpastes are not all that different. At least when it comes to their basic substances, he says, the products are very similar.
How to find the perfect toothpaste
But how do you find the perfect toothpaste? “First of all, optimal caries protection is important,” says the dentist. “That’s why it should contain fluoride in a concentration of 1450 ppm. That’s what it says on the tube.”
In the second step, he advises asking yourself: What exactly do I need? “Do I have a problem with tartar forming quickly? Then I should make sure I choose a product that is good at preventing tartar,” says Stefan Zimmer, giving an example.
Do your teeth discolor quickly due to coffee or tea? Then a toothpaste that reveals the natural whiteness of your teeth is a good choice. If you tend to have sensitive teeth, you can choose a toothpaste that is precisely tailored to this.
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Test results provide orientation
Toothpastes are regularly tested by “Stiftung Warentest” or the magazine Ökotest – different products can be easily compared on the basis of these results. “And, of course, you can also discuss the topic with your prophylaxis assistant or dentist,” advises the dentist.
With material from dpa