Ahhh the toothpaste isle. A sea of confusion. Brands upon brands of toothpaste all claiming to be better than the other. Quite often when I’m in the supermarket I have to physically stop myself from asking the customers if they are ok or if they need any help with their decision. So I don’t get a restraining order I’m writing this blog instead with a few of my favourite toothpastes.

The main purpose of a toothpaste is:

To be a lubricant - something between your tooth and the toothpaste to make cleaning your teeth easier
To remove plaque and food from the tooth surface
To deliver fluoride to the tooth surface
To help prevent bad breath
To help protect against cavities & gum problems

Its important to pick the right one for your needs especially if you suffer from something like sensitivity. Most of these toothpastes you can get in the supermarket but some are a bit more niche and you might need to get them in the chemist or online, if I can, i’ll link them below. Not an advert and I don’t get paid to talk about any of these products but some have been gifted to me which I’ll mark with a *.

One for ….. Sensitivity

My go to for tooth sensitivity is absolutely 100% Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief*. If you have heavily filled teeth or tooth wear from acid erosion, stabilising gum disease or over brushing it’s pretty likely that you will have some form of sensitivity. Most of my patients who have sensitivity get on really well with this toothpaste and is great for lots of different types of sensitivity which I feel gives it an advantage over other brands. Without going into it too much, the toothpaste is positively charged and areas of sensitivity are negatively charged so the toothpaste is attracted to areas of sensitivity like a magnet. I also get great results using this toothpaste before an ultrasonic clean so the results are pretty instant. Any toothpaste that has a specific purpose is usually a little more expensive than your jack of all trades toothpaste, but this one isn’t too bad at about £2.

One for………. a Budget

Most of the time , when I ask my patients which toothpaste they’re using they say whichever is the cheapest. Guys I get it, everyone is on a budget and you should always stick to it when you’re selecting your toothpaste. Expensive doesn’t always mean better and with that in mind my favourite budget toothpaste is from Sainsburys and at 55p its easy on the pocket. This toothpaste has fluoride, helps fight cavities and is suitable for the whole family from age 3 upwards.

One for……… Stain Removal

So these toothpastes are on the spendier side (is this a word?) at £13.95, BUT they do include a Curaprox 5460 (retailing at about £4-ish) which if you guys follow me you’ll have seen me blog about before, if not I’ll leave a link to that here, so if you factor this in the toothpaste itself is about £10. These toothpastes firstly look amazing, secondly taste amazing - my favourite is the watermelon, and thirdly do a really good job. There are six flavours altogether:

Apple & Aloe
Watermelon
Grapefruit & Bergamot
Peach & Apricot
Gin Tonic & Persimmon
Blackberry & Licorice

These toothpastes gently enzymatically remove stains that build up on teeth. The main culprits for staining are:

Tea
Coffee
Red wine
Spicy food
Smoking & vaping
Using chlorhexidine based products like Corsodyl Daily

The reason I like to recommend these toothpastes as stain removers is due to the fact that they’re non abrasive. If you guys have seen me recently we’ll have talked about and I’ll have given you a score for tooth wear. If you have any kind of tooth wear, and lets face it most adults do, I would steer clear of abrasive, gritty, crystal or charcoal based toothpastes for staining. If you are wondering about tooth wear you can chat to your Dental Hygienist or Dentist about which is best for you, but if in doubt go for the enzymes :). While these toothpastes are gently removing stains, they’re also protecting you protecting from cavities and freshening your breath. Nice. They’re also SLS free & vegan.

One……for Bleeding Gums

Bleeding gums are not uncommon but they’re not normal. If you have bleeding gums I would 100% have a conversation with your Dental Hygienist or Dentist about it as there could be something more serious going on here, but for most of my patients with bleeding gums the toothpaste I will recommend is Corsodyl* which is around £4 a tube. Corsodyl is a fantastic toothpaste for reducing bleeding and inflammation and reducing it quickly. I always say to my patients, you’ll not be my friend when you try it and this is because it’s the weirdest tasting toothpaste you will ever taste in your whole life. It has a high salt content which helps soften plaque and makes it easier to remove it at home with your toothbrush - tick, its this salt however, that gives it the funky taste. They’re working on it and I would say right now that Ultra Clean is probably the most palatable, it still however will not taste like your regular minty toothpaste. That being said, don’t let this put you off, if you have bleeding gums give it a try, please, for a good few brushes - the manufacturers recommend using it for about 24 weeks. Your gums will thank you, oh and its made of different ingredients than the mouthwash so it shouldn’t cause staining. Generally my patients who have the lowest bleeding scores have been using Corsodyl toothpaste long term so it really does work.

One ……..that’s Fluoride Free

Fluoride free is a tricky one, before we get going on this I am always going to be fighting for team fluoride but I know a lot of you choose to go fluoride free for various reasons so I thought I would include a fluoride free toothpaste that I feel confident backing here. One of the reasons for choosing fluoride free toothpaste is that fluoride could affect the titanium layer of a dental implant. Blue M toothpaste has been designed with this in mind but is also fine to use as an everyday toothpaste if you want to go fluoride free. This toothpaste is pH neutral and does not contain abrasive components or crystals, it also contains active oxygen which is great for wiping out Gum Disease and bad breath causing bacteria. Not just as easy to get, you probably need to get this one online. Blue M toothpaste retails at about £10.50.

One for …….. Braces

If there was any time to practice a gold standard oral hygiene routine, then doing it when you have a brace on would be it. Braces come in all different forms but generally will all cause some kind of issue with plaque control. I think the best toothpaste for braces is the zingy apple flavoured Vitis Orthodontic toothpaste which is about £5. Most of you guys go for an ‘invisible’ brace option with a tooth coloured wire in-between your brackets. SLS is a foaming agent which makes the toothpaste froth up in your mouth. It also strips the tooth colour off the wire making your brace more visible, luckily Vitis Orthodontic toothpaste is SLS free which really helps keep your brace as discrete as possible. You guys with braces will also know that especially when your brace is just fitted the brackets can be uncomfortable and rub on the insides of your mouth, dental wax will definitely help but this toothpaste also helps prevent and heal ulcers which helps makes the entire process more bareable. This toothpaste also has a more liquid formula which helps get it around your brackets quickly for more effective cleaning.

One for ……..Vegans

spotlight_oral_care_toothpaste_for_rebuilding_teeth_220x.jpg

If you read my last blog on going vegan and gum health if not i’ll link it here, you’ll have seen that as a vegan you can be a bit more prone to acid erosion which causes your enamel covering your entire tooth to become thinner. For this reason I think Spotlight Oral Care Toothpaste for Rebuilding Teeth could not be more perfect. Designed by Irish dentists, this toothpaste has been formulated to remineralise and replenish lost enamel. This toothpaste is also vegan friendly, ocean safe and 100% recyclable. You can find this in boots pharmacy or online, it is pricier at £8.89 on amazon but I’ve been using this for the past month and I really like it.

One for …….Everyone

The best, all round, one for all is good old Colgate Total* which is a firm favourite of mine and my patients alike. This toothpaste fights bacteria on your teeth, tongue, cheeks and gums to help protect against:

Cavities
Plaque
Gum Problems
Sensitivity
Enamel Erosion
Tartar Build Up
Bad Breath
Staining

Not bad, and at a modest £1.50 at ASDA, it’s pretty family friendly. It contains fluoride and Colgate advise you’ll see results after about 4 weeks of continual use.

So there you have it, hopefully a little something for everyone. Remember you can always ask your Dentist or Hygienist for advice or if there’s a toothpaste you like the look of that I haven’t included, send me a message and i’ll be happy to help with any questions if I can. Remember no rinsing with water after you brush and brush for 2 full minutes, preferably with a timer to keep you mouth nice and healthy. Thanks for reading and happy brushing!