Charcoal Toothpaste

Another fun aging fact; you’re teeth will turn more yellow as we get older. Yayyy! Add that to your list of shrinking, pelvic bone shifting, increasing hair loss and all the other joys of aging. When I asked my dental hygienist about teeth whiting she basically told me that it’s part of the process and basically did not provide me with any solutions. But you know I go down swinging!

Charcoal is popping up in toothpaste everywhere! Even the big guys like Colgate and Crest have jumped on the charcoal bandwagon. The best part about them is that their charcoal toothpaste looks like regular toothpaste, just a little more grey. The charcoal in toothpaste is not the coal mine type of charcoal. it is activated charcoal from wood, coconut shells and other stuff oxidized under extreme heat.

Research does not show actual teeth whitening qualities in charcoal toothpaste. It is slightly abrasive and there for remove stains on your teeth. My coffee stains? Perfect! Be cautious with using this toothpaste though. Do not use it more than once a week. You don’t want to wear down your enamel because that would create the opposite effect…it will make your teeth look more yellow…*sigh* why can’t this just be easy?

Also keep in mind that most charcoal toothpastes do not contain fluoride, which keeps your enamel strong. Colgate, however, created a charcoal toothpaste with fluoride. They also claim it is safe to use every day. I am not sure how and why but maybe it has to do with the amount of charcoal in a toothpaste.

My experience with my Crest version of charcoal toothpaste is that after one usage my teeth felt different when I ran my tongue across them. It did seem to remove my coffee stains from my teeth but I did drink coffee again. Translated in my logic, and I am not claiming to be correct, it seems to be like mopping a floor right before your dog will run across it again with dirty paws…capice?

In researching this phenomenon, I also familiarized myself with coconut oil for whiter teeth. i will give that a shot as well…to be continued….