What should you look for in toothpaste?

(2/16/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- Confused about finding the best toothpaste? You can spend a lot of money and not get what you want. There are even some toothpastes out there that may do more harm than good.

Have you ever counted the toothpastes at the store? They have at UT Houston dental branch. There are 160 types. Do you want fluoride, tartar control, whitening? Do you even know? But choose wrong and you can get:

"Red patches against the sides of the mouth and tongue," said Catherine Flaitz, DDS, dean at the UT Houston dental branch. "Actually, canker sores are increased, chapped lips, even a rash around the mouth."

The irritators -- tartar control toothpastes, detergents in toothpastes, preservatives, and even the flavors.

"Your cinnamon, cinnamon aldahyde, citric acid, menthol and also peppermint," said Flaitz.

The truth about fluoride -- the experts say it's about the same in most toothpastes, but other ingredients may reduce its effectiveness. This new toothpaste called Mentadent separates the fluoride and adds a line of liquid calcium.

"Which means the calcium can go into the tooth," said John Hicks, MD, DDS, with UT Houston pediatric dentistry. "The fluoride can go into the tooth and the phosphate can go into the tooth."

Never heard of calcium phosphate? It reduces decay by 49% and it's in Colgate Total and Arm & Hammer enamel care. What about natural toothpastes?

"The problem with herbals is unregulated," said Hicks. "What you're getting is other things with the herbals."

"One of the things that can be found in a natural toothpaste is something called blood root," said Flaitz. "And blood route is also known as sanguinaria and that's associated with white patches that occur in the mouth, especially on the gums."

Dean Flaitz says protect yourself by looking for the American Dental Association seal.

And children's toothpastes? Hicks says the only difference is the flavor. But beware -- kids' toothpastes are loaded with fluoride.

"Children's toothpastes that are marketed contain the same amount of fluoride as the adult," said Hicks.

So kids can actually use a cheaper adult toothpaste and:

"Just use a small pea amount and supervise the brushing," said Hicks.
(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)

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