The Right Amount of Natural

Arm and Hammer has played a pretty big part in my upbringing! I used it in almost every single science experiment, baked with it, polished silver, and most importantly used it in my mouth! How, you might ask?! Every time any of us children would get any type of canker sore, my mom would send us to the cabinet to get the Arm and Hammer baking soda and take a big fingerful and place it on the canker sore! It was like magic, after placing it on the sore, the next day it was gone! So, when I was contacted about their new toothpaste I was ecstatic, and after using it this past week I absolutely love it! Here's why:

Why Can't I Just Use Baking Soda on my Teeth?

The classic problem with using baking soda directly on your teeth is that it acts as an abrasive on your enamel and through constant usage will slowly wear away your enamel. We don't want this because the anatomical part of the tooth giving you a white smile is your enamel, so without that, you cannot have a white smile! Therefore you always want to avoid using anything abrasive on your teeth! One way to check whether or not your toothpaste is abrasive is through the Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA )number.

What is an RDA?

The RDA is a way to check and see if your toothpaste is too abrasive. There is a scale of 0-250, where 0-7 is the lowest abrasive. Idealy, to protect your teeth, you want an abrasively number of 7 and lower. Well, this Essentials Whiten and Stengthen Toothpaste has that, meaning it is not harmful to your enamel.

Why would you even want baking soda in your toothpaste?

Fun fact: baking soda for oral health was only introduced in there 1970's which means it is quite new to the world of oral hygiene! It was originally called the 'ideal tooth powder' because it had all the qualities every toothpaste should possess. Recent studies have shown baking soda to have superior qualities to it that other ingredients do not. These include: reduction of plaque, acts as an antibacterial, and biofilm disruptive activity.

Also, having a toothpaste that contains baking soda has been proven to clinically whiten your teeth. So I think of it as the most economical way to whiten your teeth without any sensitivity!

How does it reduce plaque?

It reduces the acidity of plaque fluid. What does this mean? In order for a person to get a cavity, plaque from food we eat accumulates and sits on the tooth slowly dissolving the tooth and thereby resulting in a cavity. The reason the plaque is able to dissolve the tooth structure is due to the acidity levels in the plaque. The plaque contains high levels of acid that are a danger to the enamel, so if we want to protect the enamel then we need something that neutralizes the acid. Baking soda does this and neutralizes the acidity quickly within the oral cavity and therefore reduces the plaque!

Does the toothpaste taste like baking soda?

I understand that taste can be a deciding factor when choosing a toothpaste and I was curious about whether this toothpaste would taste like baking soda! It definitely has an underlying taste of baking soda, but it's on the subtle side, so you taste it but it doesn't overwhelm the toothpaste. It's one of those tastes that makes you feel as though you've brushed your teeth because it's minty, fresh and has a hint of baking soda!

Is it Natural?

This is probably my favorite attribute about the toothpaste because I find that a lot of times the ingredients in toothpaste take away from the initial benefit! However, with this toothpaste there are no: artificial sweeteners, sodium laurel sulfates, preservatives, parabens and peroxide. Everything is naturally sourced and when you use it, it honestly feels like that!

Where Can I Find It?

I love this answer because I love when good toothpastes are able to be found locally! You can find this toothpaste at your local drug store (which are even open during this quarantine!)

XOXO, The Pink Hygienist

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