An Introduction to Toothpaste - Its Purpose, History and Ingredients

With the mass-marketed introduction of fluoride in toothpaste in the 1950s, toothbrushing with paste became indispensable for good oral health. Both the industry and the dental profession had a shared interest in advocating the widespread correct use of good quality toothpaste. This publication starts with a general introduction on the purpose, history and composition of toothpaste. The following chapters deal with the clinical evidence of its effectiveness in caries prevention, reducing and preventing plaque, gin-givitis, halitosis, and calculus formation, facilitating removal and prevention of extrinsic stain, and preventing dentine hypersensitivity and erosion. Later chapters provide valuable information on the abrasiveness of the pastes, the substantivity of active ingredients in the oral cavity and the possible models to study the effectiveness of the pastes when full-scale clinical trials are not possible. The final chapter focuses on the frequency of toothbrushing and post-brushing rinsing behavior. The book provides indispensable information for dentists, dental students and community dental programs on whether toothpastes can be recommended to patients for specific aims and how to use them to obtain the best effect.