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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Effective Brushing

Good Old Tooth Powder: A Natural Alternative for Modern Toothpastes

Many people consider dental powders to be something old-fashioned as the effectiveness of modern toothpastes is very satisfying for proper dental care. However, sometimes tooth powders do their job better than any toothpaste. The composition of tooth powders is based on finely powdered abrasive elements (such as chalk or calcium phosphates) and a detergent or sweetening agent (essential flavored oils, sugar, menthol, etc.). Some tooth powders also contain bicarbonate which is perfect for whitening our teeth. At the same time, in contrast to so popular toothpastes, dental powder does not contain fluoride and xylitol: important chemicals that can prevent tooth decay.

The first examples of dental powder appeared in the end of the eighteenth century in the Great Britain. The powder was made of calcium carbonate (powdered chalk), sometimes mixed with magnesium carbonate, brick dust, porcelain dust and other abrasive substances. To make the taste of the powder more pleasant and soft, the pharmacists and dentists used to add menthol oil, anise oil, cinnamon oil or oil of cloves. In those times such tooth powders were quite expensive because only rich people could afford using a toothbrush for oral hygiene: poor people were still cleaning their teeth with their fingers.

Nowadays, advanced technologies of contemporary dentistry allowed receiving very powerful dental mixtures from only natural elements that are as much effective as chemicals, but do not harm our health. Modern tooth powders contain therapeutic essential oils (such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, peppermint, etc) that reduce bad breath, have very good antiviral and antibacterial effects, as well as different sea salts with useful microelements and micronutrients. Some dental powders are enriched with the vitamins and minerals that can rejuvenate the tissues in mouth.

Therefore, the advantages of dental powders include lower costs, greater cleansing power and the absence of dangerous chemical agents (which are sometimes carcinogen and very harmful to our organism). Many specialists underline that modern toothpastes contain a great variety of dangerous chemicals (including the soaps, mutagens, toxins, etc.) and using such pastes can bring to various allergies, problems with digestive system and other serious diseases. That is why some dentists tend to recommend children below 6 to use only tooth powders based on natural elements.

Nevertheless, toothpastes with their moderate abrasive effects, more effective chemical content and a great variety of tastes remain unbeatable competitors of dental powders. Moreover, being more popular and highly demanded, toothpastes can be considered as generally more effective against various new resistant dental bacteria. There are a number of large powerful manufacturers such as Colgate, Unilever and the others, which spent millions of dollars for medical researches and improving the quality of their products. Taking into account all the above, it is possible to come to the conclusion that the best strategy for effective oral hygiene can be keeping both modern soft toothpastes and natural powerful dental powders in your bathroom. By using a toothpaste one day and dental powder the other day you can enjoy the specific benefits of both these mixtures for effective dental care and keep you teeth clean and healthy.

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