Toothpaste: After waking up in the morning, you must be brushing your teeth with toothpaste and brush before eating because this is a part of your daily routine. But most importantly, which toothpaste do you use? Whenever you have gone to the market to buy toothpaste, you must have seen hundreds of brands of paste with new tastes and flavors and you must have taken the decision based on the taste of the toothpaste, its claim of brightening teeth and the brand, but do you check anything in the toothpaste beyond this? No! So let us tell you that you are making this same mistake.

Nowadays, hundreds of types of toothpastes available in the market make all kinds of claims and are bringing out new flavors to woo people, but you will be surprised to know that the toothpaste you are using to clean can also damage the same teeth, because they contain something that can even make your gums bleed or spoil your teeth.

What is bad in toothpaste?

Dr. Libby says that whenever you buy toothpaste, check the ppm (parts per million) in it? This actually tells the amount of fluoride i.e. sodium fluoride in toothpaste. The best toothpaste for the teeth of a normal adult is one which has low fluoride content. That is, if your toothpaste contains fluoride below 1500 ppm i.e. parts per million, then it is safe for your teeth.

Whereas apart from the fluoride content in the toothpaste, it is also important to ensure that it is not coarse and is sodium lauryl sulphate free, it is the best toothpaste. Coarseness is harmful for teeth.

If we talk about children, both their gums and teeth are soft and require more care. In such a situation, try to use toothpaste with less than 1000 ppm concentration for children. The quantity of 500 ppm is best for children.

Some toothpastes with higher ppm are said to be best?

Dr. Libby says that many toothpastes have very high ppm content. This often happens in medicated toothpaste. Like Sensodyne. If a paste is made to cure a particular problem then the PPM quantity in it may be higher. For example, after scaling teeth or cleaning plaque, it is advised to do this for 15-20 days to reduce sensitivity. However, using toothpaste with higher ppm for more than this period can harm teeth.

What is the harm from excess ppm?

Dr. says that if the fluoride content in the paste is high then the chances of a person getting fluorosis increases. There may be patches in the teeth. Coarseness causes damage to both gums and teeth. Gums may bleed. Teeth may be sensitive. All these problems can be quite dangerous in the long run.