Too Much Toothpaste Damages Teeth

Finally, a mystery has been solved for Dr. Valdemar Welz, a Boston dentist with a 30-year practice. For the last two decades and in growing numbers, patients have shown signs of tooth enamel damage and complained of heightened sensitivity.

""Everybody is seeing it in their practice," said Dr. Welz.

But now he sees a clear reason.

Toothpaste abuse is now proven to cause tooth damage and has for decades, according to a published dental study in the International Dental Journal by Dr. Thomas Abrahamsen, a leading clinical researcher in the field of dentistry.

"Patients who abuse toothpaste typically dislike the color of their teeth. These individuals mistakenly believe that the more they brush their teeth, the whiter they will become. Actually the opposite occurs; as the enamel becomes thinner, the dentine is closer to the surface, resulting in a darker overall appearance, which encourages more brushing," wrote Dr. Abrahamsen in his research.

His 2008 report - The Worn Dentition -Pathognomonic Patterns of Abrasion and Erosion- is based on a 33-year study of dental casts taken from surface-damaged teeth. Tooth abrasion has many causes, but toothpaste abuse has a recognizable pattern.

Toothpaste manufacturers recommend brushing with a pea-sized squirt of toothpaste, but often, users will line the entire head of a toothbrush, sometimes with two bars, and brush vigorously.

Abrasives are common ingredients in toothpaste. CoupIed with vigorous brushing, damage results in a unique "sandblasted" effect on tooth enamel. The results become worse depending on the time, speed, and pressure applied while brushing. Eventually, treatment is needed to replace the loss of tooth structure.

Dr. Abrahamsen's study indicates that brushing alone, without toothpaste, does not cause the same degree of wear, nor does the firmness or softness of toothbrush bristles affect the tooth enamel. However, the soft tissue at the gum line can be worn away by vigorous brushing with firm bristles.

In 1964, R. S. Manley measured wear caused by toothbrushes v. toothpaste. Mouth models created from extracted teeth were mechanically brushed with the same pressure.
When one sample group used only plain water during tooth brushing, no appreciable wear resulted. But under the same conditions, the separate group applying toothpaste produced wear.

Abrasion studies trace back to laboratory experiments published in 1907 by W. D. Miller, the man who discovered the bacteriological process of tooth decay. Toothpaste abrasion has been observed in dental literature for 280 years, according to Dr. Abrahamsen.
"My latest research using modern toothbrushes and toothpastes clearly proves the past and present claims to be true," he wrote in an email.

His current findings question a major underpinning of dental health - daily brushing with toothpaste.

"Very few dentists are aware of the slow insidious destruction from toothpaste. We're talking a billion dollar business," said Dr. Abrahamsen, who holds positions with the American Board of Prosthodontics, the American College of Prosthodontists and the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry.

Other causes of tooth abrasion, such as teeth grinding (bruxism), were addressed in his study. Separately, erosion of tooth enamel from a chemical/dissolving process has three main causes: swishing sodas in the mouth while drinking, mulling foods high in fruit acid in the mouth, or regurgitation from bulimia, which damages teeth because of powerful stomach acids.

Combinations of causes are quite common, according to the study. For example, a person might drink a lot of sodas and grind their teeth at night, which both contribute to wear.

But each cause shows a very specific pattern when studied on dental casts, according to Abrahamsen, and toothpaste is clearly a leading contributor to abrasion. When the enamel is worn away, the underlying dentine is exposed, causing discoloration and tooth sensitivity.
One Harvard dental expert is skeptical of isolating toothpaste as the leading culprit and noted that the levels of abrasives vary among brands of toothpaste.

"I don't think the dental literature supports toothpaste alone, but the combined use of toothpaste and tooth brushing," according to Dr. Nachum Samet, a prosthodontist and Director of Restorative Dentistry with the Harvard School of Dentistry.

He felt manufacturers should reduce the abrasives in their products, but he also stressed the proven benefits of toothpaste in fighting cavities and gum disease, and that perhaps the wear attributed to toothpaste is "not extremely significant."

"I think this is a reasonable 'price,' when comparing it to the known benefits of tooth brushing and fluoride countering toothpastes," he said.

But one Boston dentist is throwing out the family toothpaste and now is advising his patients to do the same.

"Stop using toothpaste and brush with an electric toothbrush and water and then floss. Don't use toothpaste because almost all toothpastes are abrasive," advised Dr. Welz.

Comments

[MadOzbo]

Baking soda.
I used a whitning toothpaste for decades, and developed sentive teeth. My hygenist said to switch to baking soda (I have a severe plaque problem from overactive salivary glands), and to use a "sensitive" toothpaste to help fill in the porous areas of my enamel damaged by the whitning toothpaste. I use a baking soda toothpaste for sensitive teeth. Not ALL toothpastes are "bad," some are actually beneficial nowadays. Technology is wonderful.

My plaque problem is better, my teeth don't hurt as much, and my hygenist is pleased with my tooth and gum condition.

[RaisingAwareness]

Fluoride in toothpaste and in our water supplies is highly toxic and dangerous for humans, fish, animals, and our entire ecosystem. Fluoride among other things can make you infertile. Some powerful global elitists have made it very well know that they intend want to reduce the world's population by 80% by overt and covert means. Fluoride is also a main ingredient in some psychiatric drugs. Connect the dots. Lastly for those who say it's about our teeth, how could ingesting fluoride be good for your teeth when it's in your stomach.

Check these websites below for reasons why fluoride absolutely needs to be removed from products and our water.

Don't buy the lies. Demand that fluoride be removed.

http://www.fluoridealert.org/50-reasons.htm

http://www.fluoridealert.org/

http://www.naturalnews.com/fluoride.html

[Lauren Cahn - Huffpost Blogger]

Well, that explains it! I have always gotten lots of compliments on my strong, white teeth, but my "dirty" little secret shame has been that I can't stand toothpaste, and often brush with water alone. Now I can see the connection! Awesome!

[inthedesert]

Oh and I am sure laser whitening doesn't harm teeth at all??? Yeah, right. Why do people think they have to have perfectly white teeth?? Advertising and the media, of course!!! Kill your television set...NOW!
You'll be much happier and content.

[desthmoneses]

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, my dentist said I was wrong when I told him I though toothpaste could be harmful and so I only used it once a week (I floss, brush my tongue, brush without paste, use mouthwash to avoid bad breath). I'm glad I use toothpaste sparingly, my teeth have never had a cavity while everyone else in my family has had several and they brush three times a day, I can't wait to show them this article.

[nyscof]

The fluoride in toothpaste can be tooth damaging also

Fluoride exposure is rising and causing children"s tooth imperfections, ranging from white spots to brownish discolorations and pitting (fluorosis), dentist Elivir Dincer reports in the New York State Dental Journal.

"Such changes in the tooth"s appearance can affect the child"s self-esteem which makes early prevention that much more critical," writes Dincer.

Children, aged 2 to 7 years, can swallow about one-quarter milligram of fluoride with every brushing because their swallowing reflexes are not fully developed, reports Dincer.

"Children from the age of 6-months to 3-years should not have more than one-quarter milligram of fluoride per day. Brushing the teeth of a 2-year-old twice a day will expose the child to about one-half milligram, exceeding the allowable [daily] limits" [from toothpaste alone], writes Dincer.

Intentionally swallowing the toothpaste which is likely, given the pleasant flavor of children"s toothpaste, increases children"s fluorosis risk, Dincer reports.

Fluoridated water, supplements, mouth rinses and/or foods add to daily fluoride intake.

Up to 48% of children have fluorosis, with 4% moderate/severe (yellow/brown teeth), reports the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

"Water and processed beverages (e.g., soft drinks ) can provide approximately 75% of a person's fluoride intake," according to the CDC.

Why isn't this information reaching the public?

Ask for a Congressional investigation at

http://congress.FluorideAction.Net

[gerimd]

I know! Fluoridation actually harms the teeth. We have been sold such a bill of goods. Bad enough we got conned into adding it to our water supply; it's in toothpaste, too.

According to the author (whose name eludes me) of "Good Teeth, Birth to Death," the best way to clean teeth is with plain ordinary soap. After reading that, I started using castille soap (very mild and pleasant tasting). My teeth now sparkle and my mouth feels wonderfully clean.

People who have stained teeth should try Peelu fibers. They are like little erasers for teeth.