Can you use toothpaste tablets to clean your teeth?
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
Toothpaste tablets are chewable versions of traditional toothpaste. The tablets, also known as tooth tabs, have come in a variety of flavors. The chewable toothpaste tablets have the same composition as regular toothpaste, but they do not contain water. If only they could be compressed into a pill-like form.
Using tooth tabs for teeth cleaning is on the constant rise, whilst its effectiveness is not proven yet. Our patients also inquire about this oral hygiene appliance. Hence our dentists and dental hygienists have shared essential information about toothpaste tablets in this blog post.
How to use Toothpaste tablets?
Instead of squeezing out the toothpaste from a tube, you have to crush the tooth tabs with your teeth.
1) Take one toothpaste tablet and keep it in your mouth.
2) Chew it thoroughly. A paste is formed when ingredients in the tablet are mixed with saliva.
3) Now moisturize your toothbrush and start brushing as you normally do.
You can use toothpaste tablets for nighttime brushing as well. It will ensure your mouth is clean and fresh, like toothpaste. However, you should rinse your mouth twice or thrice to eliminate the leftover grittiness.
What are the advantages of toothpaste tablets?
Toothpaste tablets stand on top of certain factors while weighing up with toothpaste. Here are some instances:
- Longer lifetime – The tooth tabs are also vulnerable to air, moisture, and heat. However, proper maintenance and storage can last at least one year. It is because the tablets are devoid of water, so it makes preserving the oral hygiene product for a longer time.
- Easy to carry while travelling –As the pills are compressed, you will not encounter any difficulties carrying them. Unlike the tube of toothpaste that might cause any mess in your carry case while travelling, you can easily pack the tablets to carry.
- Natural ingredients – The toothpaste tablets do not contain sodium lauryl sulphate and chemical stabilizers that are added to toothpaste. It means the tooth tabs are a good option for cruelty-free teeth cleaning substances.
- Environmental friendly – The tubes used to pack toothpaste are plastic that pollute the environment when they are dumped. In contrast, toothpaste tablets are home-compostable packages like glass jars and pouches that do not affect the environment.
Can children use toothpaste tablets?
Every parent should give a pea-sized amount of toothpaste to kids. Otherwise, kids would ingest excessive fluoride content from toothpaste while brushing and develop fluorosis. Luckily, you do not have this problem with toothpaste tabs, but they might cause choking for kids if they swallow the tablets in excess.
Hence pediatric dentists advise parents to keep the oral hygiene product out of reach of kids below 6 years old.
Will toothpaste tablets clean your teeth efficiently as regular toothpaste?
Despite the growing popularity of toothpaste tabs due to their features, their efficacy in teeth cleaning is still being looked at.
It is because many toothpaste tablet manufacturers brand their products as fluoride-free. Fluoride is a natural mineral pivotal to remineralizing and strengthening the enamel to shield a tooth from bacterial invasion. It raises doubts about the effectiveness of toothpaste pills.
Moreover, some toothpaste tablets contain inactive compounds like sugar alcohols that will cause allergic effects for people with certain oral complications.
Besides these, some toothpaste tablet users revealed that the paste formed while chewing the tab does not reach all teeth. The risk of bacteria proliferation inside the mouth increases when the cleaning agent is not distributed evenly for all teeth.
Bottom line
Like other teeth-cleaning appliances, toothpaste tablets have advantages and limitations. However, its unproven effectiveness obstructs many oral hygienists from suggesting chewable tablets.
Hence it is better to use these tablets when toothpaste is not available when you go around.
Likely, if you want to use toothpaste tablets for teeth cleaning, incorporate them as a supplement rather than replacing them with these tablets.
