I promised in my post Oral-B Gum & Enamel Repair Original Toothpaste Review that if I find out the RDA level of this toothpaste I will announce it. Well I found it out recently, sort of. And this occurrence sort of made me annoyed once again. So I’m going to pour it out now.
I saw a representative from Oral-b recently. She was going to ask about our experiences of the Gum & Enamel Repair Original Toothpaste. I told mine and to my pleasant surprise she suggested we would fill an adverse reaction report. So we did. She said she had never heard anyone’s tongue getting numb from their toothpaste.
My most important question to ask from the rep was the magic RDA value of this toothpaste. I was dreading it as the reps are quite sensitive about the whole subject of RDA value. They know that it is thought widely amongst the dental professionals that the higher the RDA value is the more abrasive it the toothpaste is. So the manufacturers want to keep it a secret.
What Is RDA?
To explain it very simple way, the RDA is the grittiness of the toothpaste. If it is too high, it can cause tooth wear. But to explain RDA more elegantly, here is a quote by ADA (American Dental Association):
To help quantify the abrasivity of dentifrices, the ADA along with various academic, industry and government agencies established a standardized scale called Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA). This scale assigns dentifrices an abrasivity value, relative to a standard reference abrasive that is arbitrarily given an RDA value of 100.
All dentifrices at or below 2.5 times the reference value, or 250 RDA, are considered safe and effective. In fact, clinical evidence supports that lifetime use of proper brushing technique with a toothbrush and toothpaste at an RDA of 250 or less produces limited wear to dentin and virtually no wear to enamel.
ADA (American Dental Association)
So what this quote is saying is that most of the toothpastes are safe. Mind you, FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration) has set the safe limit of RDA to 200. But internationally it is the RDA 250 or below that is recognised as safe to use. I did a research and found out that many dental sites (both english and my native language) state that the highest safe RDA level has been set too high. It should be 100 or less.
Ok, back to seeing the rep. I gathered all my courage and asked the big question.
Err, what is the RDA level of this toothpaste?
Oh boy, he looks annoyed. He asks if he has ever shown us a video about RDA. No, he hasn’t. He took his tablet out and put the video rolling. It was about RDA level of the toothpaste made by Oral-b. In the video they were demonstrating that it doesn’t matter what the RDA level is as long as it is below 250.
He looked victorious when the video ended. I asked again.
So, what is the RDA level of this toothpaste?
He said with a sigh that the RDA level of the Gum & Enamel Repair Original Toothpaste is somewhere between 100-200. So this is what I meant when I found out the RDA level of this toothpaste, sort of.
Conclusion
It is good to remember that not only the toothpaste’s RDA level determines how much you will get tooth wear. If you brush your teeth straight after breakfast, with a hard toothbrush and with too vigorous technique (applying too much pressure), it has very little meaning what the RDA level of the toothpaste is.
Today I am going to review a toothpaste for the first time ever. It is a toothpaste that was given to me by a representative of Oral-b. It is called Oral-b Gum & Enamel Repair Original toothpaste and it is Oral-b’s newest toothpaste.
Here’s the manufacturer’s selling speech about the toothpaste on their website:
It defends against acid erosion and helps to repair enamel
It provides antibacterial action to help rejuvenate gums
For sensitive teeth – clinically proven
Oral-B Gum & Repair Original toothpaste comes with a mild flavour and a smooth texture
The Design
The design of the packaging looks simplified and minimalistic which I very much like. This is welcome change from their previous toothpastes’ outlook that had too much information in a small space.
The tube is still easy to open, but there is small change in the lid. It used to be made of metal which at least in my opinion is better recycling-wise than plastic. Small detail but still. Can’t help this image of whales’ intestines full of plastic popping in my mind. But then again the whole tube is plastic.
The Testing
Staying on the environmental subject. The plastic and the whales. There has been lots of talk over microbeads that are found in many consumer products. Even in toothpastes. These microbeads will eventually find their way into the sea and cause problems to the oceans as persistent pollutant. The representative who gave me this Gum & Enamel Repair Original toothpaste sample promised that there are no microbeads in it. The ingredient to look for is polyethylene when you want to make sure there is none of them. I found no polyethylene in the ingredients list (see at the end of this post). Great.
The texture of the toothpaste looks smooth as they promised but when you take closer look, it is not that smooth after all and the fear of microbeads is getting stronger again.
The texture of the Gum & Enamel Repair Original toothpaste Closer look of the toothpaste reveals tiny beads.
The tiny granules are clearly visible but these could be actually hydrated silica (abrasive), not microbeads.
Ok, time to add toothpaste to my toothbrush. Like with Oral-b Pro-Expert toothpaste, this new one is also quite runny and can be messy if you are not quick enough. Once I had applied toothpaste to my toothbrush I was in a rush to take a photo before it dripped on to the table.
and with this brush the runny texture is actually better than the ones that are stiffer pastes. But I can see that the sink in the bathroom will have toothpaste marks here and there. Also, note to myself – do not let husband use this toothpaste as he brushes his teeth after he has put his suit on. Silly man.
So lets put the toothpaste in my mouth. It does begin to formulate foam which means there is soap in the toothpaste. Not the best option for somebody with sensitive soft tissues or dry mouth. Soap aka sodium lauryl sulfate can make the mouth dry and also it has been linked to canker sores aka aphthous ulcers (although nothing is scientifically proven and oh boy don’t I hear it from the rep e-v-e-r-y time).
Very soon I begin to feel burning sensation on first third of the tongue (the tip of the tongue), both top and bottom of the tongue. Also the tongue feels slightly numb. This carries on all through the brushing and after spitting the toothpaste out. Now, I do advise my patients not to rinse after brushing but the burning sensation is so strong that I must rinse lightly. Once I did that and bit my teeth together, I could feel biting on some grit. This made me think about the abrasiveness of the toothpaste. It is new toothpaste so the RDA value (Relative Dentine Abrasivity) was impossible to find. I will add the RDA value as soon I find it out.
Ten minutes after brushing the burning can still be felt. Also I feel that the layer of skin inside my lips is peeling off. This has been “a feature” with Oral-b Pro-Expert toothpastes and the reps have said it’s absolutely normal and will diminish when using the toothpaste for longer period of time. My colleague asked the rep if this new Gum & Enamel Repair Original toothpaste does the same. I must say that I cannot remember the rep’s exact answer but I think she said this toothpaste should cause less of the peeling of the mucosa. Well it doesn’t. At least with me. If anything I think the peeling of the mucosa is quicker than with Pro-Expert toothpaste.
Twenty minutes after brushing I can still feel the burning feeling slightly. I guess some people will associate this burning feeling with effectiveness of the toothpaste. The more it burns, the more effective it is. As a dental professional I must say that this is not true. No toothpaste should feel uncomfortable to use.
Would I Recommend?
To be honest, most likely I will not recommend this toothpaste to anyone. Not after I took a closer look at the ingredients. One ingredient has been nominated as Allergen of the Year for 2018 by American Contact Dermatitis Society. This ingredient is called propylene glycol.
The list of ingredients is long and to my mind the longer the list is the more side-effects there will be. My favourite toothpaste that I recommend to my patients a lot has only eight ingredients (aqua, crystalline sorbitol, hydrated silica, crystalline xylitol, PEG, anhydrous natural betaine, cellulose gum, sodium fluoride (1500 ppm F), sorbate). Oral-b Gum & Enamel Repair Original toothpaste has nineteen! Three of these ingredients can have adverse reactions to one’s health – propylene glycol, CI 77891 and sodium lauryl sulfate.
Also the fact that I got this burning feeling in my mouth tells me this toothpaste is not suitable for most of the people. Remember that it should not feel unpleasant to use a toothpaste. Certainly it should not hurt. So change if it does.
The Ingredients
Here are the ingredients of the Oral-B Gum & Enamel Repair Original toothpaste and short explanation of what they are (by clicking the link you will find more information):
Glycerin – an organic compound most commonly from animal fat and vegetable oil
PEG-6 – The abbreviation PEG = polyethylene glycol. Possibility for adverse reaction. An emulsifier and foaming agent
Propylene Glycol – the American Contact Dermatitis Society’s Allergen of the Year for 2018. An emollient and emulsifier.
Aqua – the main carrier for all ingredients. Helps dissolve other soluble ingredients. Helps the mechanical process of cleaning teeth in mouthwashes
Zinc Lactate – such a difficult ingredient to find any information solely on zinc lactate. Lots of information on zinc but there must be difference in different types of zinc? If anyone finds trustworthy site with information on zinc lactate, please drop me a line.
Sodium Gluconate – to sequester calcium and helps to prevent gingivitis
Oral-b smart phone holder should be attached to the mirror
“Whoomp (there it is)” was ringing in my head when I was thinking about the title for this post. But I decided to use the same title as on my previous post for you to be able to follow the subject.
So there it is! The smart phone holder attached to the mirror. And so well it is attached that it feels like it is glued to the mirror. When I tried to pull it off to test how well it is attached, the mirror almost came off.
Conclusion
The smart phone holder should be attached to the mirror to avoid your smart phone plunging towards the floor.
Irrelevant to the usability of the apparatus, I must say that as an aesthete I think the holder is too bulky. But hey that’s just me.
Dental Revelations 