Toothpaste alone cannot prevent dental erosion or hypersensitivity, researchers assert.
The rising prevalence of dental erosion and dentin hypersensitivity has led to the emergence of more and more toothpastes on the market that claim to help treat such problems.
However, academics from the University of Bern and the Sao Paulo Research Foundation have analysed nine different toothpastes and found that none of the products were capable of mitigating enamel surface loss, a key factor in tooth erosion and dentin hypersensitivity.
“Research has shown that dentin must be exposed with open tubules in order for there to be hypersensitivity, and erosion is one of the causes of dentin exposure. This is why, in our study, we analysed toothpastes that claim to be anti-erosive and/or desensitising,” said Samira Helena Joao-Souza, a PhD student at the University of Sao Paulo’s School of Dentistry. “All of the tested toothpastes caused different amounts of enamel surface loss, and none of the toothpastes afforded protection against enamel erosion and abrasion.”
The scientists tested eight anti-erosive and/or desensitising toothpastes and one control toothpaste, all of which are available from pharmacies and drugstores. They simulated the effect of brushing once a day with exposure to an acid solution for five consecutive days on enamel using human premolars donated for scientific research purposes.
All of the analysed toothpastes caused progressive tooth surface loss in the five-day period, the researchers reported.
“None of them were better than the others. The test showed that some (toothpastes) caused less surface loss than others, but they all resembled the control toothpaste (for) this criterion,” said study co-author Professor Ana Cecilia Correa Aranha. “We’re now working on other studies relating to dentin in order to think about possibilities, given that none of these toothpastes was found capable of preventing dental erosion or dentin hypersensitivity, which is a cause of concern.”
The researchers are now hoping to begin a more specific study on the topic which will also include pain evaluations.
Full study results have been published in Scientific Reports.