Toothpaste alone not enough to stop dental erosion

toothpasteToothpastes alone cannot protect users against enamel erosion and abrasion, a new study from the University of Bern has found.

There is a growing number of toothpastes on the market offering treatment to problems such as dentine hypersensitivity and dental erosion.

However, this new study found that of the nine toothpastes it analysed, none of them were capable of mitigating enamel surface loss.

‘Toothpaste won’t solve the problem completely,’ Samira Helena João-Souza, a PhD scholar at the University of São Paulo’s School of Dentistry (FO-USP) in Brazil and first author of the article, said.

‘Dental erosion is multifactorial.

‘It has to do with brushing, and above all, with diet.

‘Food and drink are increasingly acidic as a result of industrial processing.’


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Treatments

The authors of the study concluded that these toothpastes perform a function but should be used as a complement to treatment.

The study claims at least three factors are required to help against tooth erosion:

  • Consulting a dentist
  • Use of an appropriate
  • Change in lifestyle, especially diet.

‘None of them (the analysed toothpastes) were better than the others,’ Professor Ana Cecília Corrêa Aranha, João-Souza’s supervisor and a co-author of the article, said.

‘Indication will depend on each case.

‘The test showed that some (toothpastes) caused less surface loss than others, but they all resembled the control toothpaste (for) this criterion.’

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