How does this fluoride-free toothpaste compare when it comes to oral health?
asserted
it → compare → health
How does this fluoride-free toothpaste compare when it comes to oral health?
How you brush your teeth — and what you use to do it — matters.
Recently, dentist Dr. Jin-Ho Phark says he's noticed patients asking about fluoride-free toothpaste options.
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patients → compare → options
"There's a lot of interest from the patients," Phark says.
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Phark → be → patients
"I hear that also regularly from students."
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I → hear → students
One product that patients are asking about in particular is a calcium phosphate mineral called hydroxyapatite.
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patients → ask → that
Many patients, Phark says, may have seen the products on social media, "being pushed by influencers and other people quite intensively."
uncertain
Phark → say → influencers
The traditional fluoride toothpaste became common in the late 1950s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when Procter & Gamble Co. released Crest nationally.
uncertain
Procter → become → Crest
Over the next few decades, oral care products with fluoride as their active ingredient became widely available around the world.
asserted
products → become → world
These products help protect the outer layer of teeth from cavity-causing bacteria.
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products → help → bacteria
And dental health is important because it's related to so many systems in your body, from your heart to digestion.
"There are these connections made between your oral health, and the bugs that you have in your mouth, and systemic health and even the composition of your gut microbiome," says Dr. Livia Tenuta, a dentist who specializes in preventing tooth decay and associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
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who → relate → Dentistry
Many of the things you care about when it comes to toothpaste: cavity protection, whitening, enamel-strengthening.
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it → care → toothpaste
Health experts widely agree that fluoride — a naturally occurring mineral — is beneficial to health.
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fluoride → agree → health
But curiosity is growing about fluoride-free options.
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curiosity → grow → options
"There is an increasing number of people who are refusing fluoride totally, or hesitant to take it, especially for their children," says Bennett Amaechi, a professor of dentistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
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Amaechi → be → Antonio
That hesitancy stems from a history of skepticism about fluoride.
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hesitancy → stem → fluoride
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed the fluoridation of water for a number of health problems, including arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.
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Jr. → blame → arthritis
Low levels of fluoride are generally considered safe and key to preventing cavities.
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levels → consider → cavities
Amaechi says there's no concrete evidence about potential harms of fluoride when it comes to children's IQ.
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it → say → IQ
And research that has found associations between fluoride and IQ has looked at very high levels of fluoride — over twice what's recommended in the U.S. water supply.
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what → find → supply
The CDC previously named the addition of fluoride to public drinking water one of the top 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century, alongside vaccinations and family planning.
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CDC → name → vaccinations
They also say fluoride in water reduces cavities by 25%.
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fluoride → say → %
Still, Kennedy's criticism of fluoride seems to have made its way to toothpaste — and opened up space for products that use hydroxyapatite instead.
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that → seem → hydroxyapatite
There's also some research that suggests hydroxyapatite can help with tooth sensitivity.
uncertain
hydroxyapatite → be → sensitivity
Tooth enamel is mostly made of calcium and phosphate.
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enamel → make → calcium
Those minerals form the outer layer of your teeth, which protects the internal layers of tissues, nerves and blood vessels, from damage.
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which → form → damage
Bacteria in your mouth feed on sugars, and produce acids that eat away at the outer layer of your teeth.
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that → feed → teeth
Tenuta says over time, that process sets the stage for tooth decay, often referred to as caries, or eventually cavities (a hole in a tooth that comes from this decay).
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that → say → decay
She says fluoride toothpaste helps protect teeth by "remineralizing" them with calcium and phosphate.
asserted
toothpaste → say → calcium
"When [fluoride is] available in our saliva, in the dental plaque that we were not very perfect in brushing, that fluoride that is left over after brushing with the fluoride toothpaste will actually bring minerals back to the tooth," Tenuta says.
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Tenuta → brush → tooth
Fluoride works with those minerals to form a new compound that protects teeth.
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that → work → teeth
It acts like a shield for your enamel.
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It → act → enamel
But you need to brush with fluoride toothpaste consistently.
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you → need → toothpaste
Dentists recommend twice daily to keep those minerals around in our mouths.
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Dentists → recommend → mouths
Hydroxyapatite is thought to work in a slightly different way.
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Hydroxyapatite → think → way
These products seem to get into tiny crevices in the tooth enamel.
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products → seem → enamel
Many hydroxyapatite products use a form called nano-hydroxyapatite, which has smaller particles that, in theory, can more easily penetrate pores in enamel, though research data is limited.
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data → use → enamel
The evidence
Amaechi, who studies hydroxyapatite use, says fluoride is extensively researched, especially in long-term studies.
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fluoride → study → studies
But he says early research on hydroxyapatite is positive.
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research → say → hydroxyapatite
"When it comes to remineralization and preventing caries manifestation, it is as effective as fluoride," Amaechi says.
asserted
Amaechi → come → fluoride
Amaechi was an author on a 2021 study in the journal Scientific Reports, that followed 177 children for almost one year, and compared hydroxyapatite toothpaste to fluoride toothpaste.
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that → follow → toothpaste
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
