Things to Know About ADA Approved Toothpastes
Everyone loves choices when shopping. The choice is great, but sometimes it becomes challenging to deduce the best from various products. Options for toothpaste are endless when in a store. The most important thing to be aware of is the ingredients ! Read labels carefully, every ingredient must be easy to recognize and read.
The American Dentist Association (ADA) has a Seal of approval. The seal demonstrates that a product has met strict ADA requirements that specify the ingredients and toothpaste manufacturing procedure. Let's look into the things that ADA examines to approval what it considers good toothpaste.
For those who love organic products from small manufacturers this seal will most likely not be of concern, let's explain why.
Toothpaste Must Contain Fluoride
ADA toothpaste must contain fluoride because accordingly to them "it is a vital mineral in strengthening the enamel of the teeth". Which most of us in the natural industry know is a controversial and questionable statement. Please read 5 Reasons To Choose Fluoride-Free Toothpastes. Toothpaste without an ADA seal could mean it is a fluoride-free product.
Must Contain Active Ingredients to Support Oral Health
Fluoride is a dominant ingredient, but ADA toothpaste must also have other ingredients that serve different purposes like whitening the teeth, controlling sensitivity, preventing bad breath, or reducing gingivitis. Some also help the teeth to get a defense against erosion. The ingredients appear on a list of active ingredients on a toothpaste box.
The list often contains an explanation about the role of each ingredient. Toothpaste can be paste, gel, or powder form with slightly different ingredients, but most contain general components. They contain mild abrasives to remove debris and stains on the teeth surface with assistance from the toothbrush. Flavoring agents add some sweetness and a minty fresh scent to toothpaste but do not have sugar.
Humectants are another active ingredient to prevent water loss to stop toothpaste from getting gummy or drying. Other ingredients are detergents that cause the foam to help toothpaste spread through the entire mouth and thickening agents or binders to stabilize the formula.
As you can see, this absolutely do not apply to organic, natural toothpastes. Please read more on this humectants, and detergents harmful side effects to our health in this article "Why choose Organic Toothpaste ".
Sugar Is Outlawed
Conventional toothpastes use abrasive agents and detergents that have an unpleasant taste, so toothpaste manufacturers add flavoring agents to ‘sweeten’ their products. The sweetness in toothpaste is not from sugar because it has elements that promote tooth decay. Manufactures use non-sugary sweetening agents that are not natural like sorbitol or saccharin. ADA can give a Seal of approval to toothpastes with sweeteners but will not recommend any that contains sugar. However, sorbitol or saccharin have side effects to our health and should also be avoided if you are looking to nourish your teeth and gums.
ADA seal might be important to some, but the guidelines do not use natural medicine guidelines or support preventive medicine. Once again, it is very important you know where your toothpaste is coming from, where is it made, what ingredients are used, and what makes this company trustable.
At lucky Teeth we do not have an ADA seal but sure use the best ingredients for your teeth and gums, we care about nourishment and prevention. We Use no chemicals, no artificial flavorings or sweeteners.
