toothpaste

Greend
Greend Member Posts: 678
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I read the recent posing about the new toothpaste and it made me wonder what, if anything makes Biotene or any other dry mouth products woth the cost so I got my tube of biotene and read the active ingredients arer (drum roll) Flouride. I don't see any other additivies on the tube that makes it special. I do know their mouthwash is alcohol free which is good. Has anyone seen more data?

Just wondering and I'm still using it.

Comments

  • hawk711
    hawk711 Member Posts: 566
    #2
    Brush, Brush, Brush,
    Dennis
    I think the only difference is the levels of fluoride. 1% vs .25% with some toothpastes. I guess the higher levels of fluoride is good for us H&N folks....that's my story and I'm sticking to it....maybe someone else knows something we don't....
    All the best,
    Steve
  • RogerRN43
    RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
    #3
    Ingredients
    I thought Biotene toothpaste had higher fluoride until I looked at the box and saw it contained .24% like all the others.
    However, it looks like it does have a few extras:
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/99669-ingredients-biotene-pbf-toothpaste/

    That said, I prefer using 1.1% fluoride toothpaste and I stumbled upon 3M Clinpro5000 that touts advantages over PreviDent5000.
    I generally brush after every meal, floss at night, occasionally in the day depending on what I eat.

    For something quicker than brushing, I still like the Biotene PBF mouthwash (not the original, without PBF). I use it when I get up through the night, and sometimes during the day between brushings. It has the same PBF enzyme action as its toothpaste counterpart (see link above).

    My saliva composition has changed like mostly everyone else's here and it's no longer protective. I chew Trident through the day, and it produces a lot of saliva for comfort. Correct me if I'm wrong but the composition is the same, there is just more of it, so I don't think it's doing any good for protection like in the past before rads. That's another reason why I like using the Biotene mouthwash.
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #4
    RogerRN43 said:

    Ingredients
    I thought Biotene toothpaste had higher fluoride until I looked at the box and saw it contained .24% like all the others.
    However, it looks like it does have a few extras:
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/99669-ingredients-biotene-pbf-toothpaste/

    That said, I prefer using 1.1% fluoride toothpaste and I stumbled upon 3M Clinpro5000 that touts advantages over PreviDent5000.
    I generally brush after every meal, floss at night, occasionally in the day depending on what I eat.

    For something quicker than brushing, I still like the Biotene PBF mouthwash (not the original, without PBF). I use it when I get up through the night, and sometimes during the day between brushings. It has the same PBF enzyme action as its toothpaste counterpart (see link above).

    My saliva composition has changed like mostly everyone else's here and it's no longer protective. I chew Trident through the day, and it produces a lot of saliva for comfort. Correct me if I'm wrong but the composition is the same, there is just more of it, so I don't think it's doing any good for protection like in the past before rads. That's another reason why I like using the Biotene mouthwash.

    My understanding is the pH
    My understanding is the pH of saliva can change after RT. We tend to think mostly about the quantity and less about the quality. If it can no longer buffer, ie becomes acidic, then caries can develop. I actually tested mine the first thing in the AM before brushing or eating anything and it was 6.7, my wife who never has had cavities is at 6.9. I think anything less than 6.2 is considered problematic. Chewing sugar free gum, like Trident, also helps. Here is a link to a pretty good article, but you will need to copy and paste.

    http://www.adha.org/downloads/Saliva_CE.pdf
  • Irishgypsie
    Irishgypsie Member Posts: 333
    #5
    jtl said:

    My understanding is the pH
    My understanding is the pH of saliva can change after RT. We tend to think mostly about the quantity and less about the quality. If it can no longer buffer, ie becomes acidic, then caries can develop. I actually tested mine the first thing in the AM before brushing or eating anything and it was 6.7, my wife who never has had cavities is at 6.9. I think anything less than 6.2 is considered problematic. Chewing sugar free gum, like Trident, also helps. Here is a link to a pretty good article, but you will need to copy and paste.

    http://www.adha.org/downloads/Saliva_CE.pdf

    Xylitol!!!
    See even the article showed how good xylitol gum is!!!! :) we shall see only time will tell!

    Charles
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #6
    Irishgypsie said:

    Xylitol!!!
    See even the article showed how good xylitol gum is!!!! :) we shall see only time will tell!

    Charles

    That would be true, but it
    That would be true, but it only produces more salvia and only changes the pH a little if at all and that is due to "washing" out the acid. My pH can go from good to bad in the course of a day. I would like to find a lozenge that is very alkaline to counteract the acid. Zinc can do that but who knows what else it does. Another thing I found out is that while brushing and traditional oral hygiene is important it may prevent gum disease more than caries. Isn't this fun, not!
    John

    I just re-thought my response. I guess if your saliva is alkaline, and not all is after RT, and you produce a sufficient amount then your mouth should be alkaline positive. I am chewing my Trident as we speak. I am going to take multiple measurements and see how the pH varies under different conditions/food and drink.

    Found the results of a recent study on the most popular brands of prescription toothpastes.

    http://www.drbicuspid.com//index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=rst&pag=dis&ItemID=307078
  • patricke
    patricke Member Posts: 570 Member
    #7
    I have no information, but
    I have no information, but Biotene with PBF has been my paste of choice for awhile, along with the mouthwash also with PBF. I've tried other pastes in the past, but Biotene seems to be the easiest on my mouth. I also swish a little Colgate Phos-Flur, recommended by my dentist, around once daily for a bit of a fluoride boost.

    PATRICK
  • RogerRN43
    RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
    #8
    jtl said:

    That would be true, but it
    That would be true, but it only produces more salvia and only changes the pH a little if at all and that is due to "washing" out the acid. My pH can go from good to bad in the course of a day. I would like to find a lozenge that is very alkaline to counteract the acid. Zinc can do that but who knows what else it does. Another thing I found out is that while brushing and traditional oral hygiene is important it may prevent gum disease more than caries. Isn't this fun, not!
    John

    I just re-thought my response. I guess if your saliva is alkaline, and not all is after RT, and you produce a sufficient amount then your mouth should be alkaline positive. I am chewing my Trident as we speak. I am going to take multiple measurements and see how the pH varies under different conditions/food and drink.

    Found the results of a recent study on the most popular brands of prescription toothpastes.

    http://www.drbicuspid.com//index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=rst&pag=dis&ItemID=307078

    Thanks, I didn't realize there were so many brands...
    For me, it's a combination of what's easily available and price. Over the counter, it's only PreviDent and 3M, and the 3M was on sale for $3.50, more than double the size of the PD, and has good shelf-life, which meant I could buy a few tubes.
    I imagine the others might be available through local dental offices at a premium.
    The only thing I noticed in the study was the 3M required more mechanical agitation to release the calcium which they didn't do. Isn't that what a good brushing does?

    Here's a pretty good article of several things we should be doing to save our teeth:

    http://www.jcda.ca/article/b85/
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #9
    RogerRN43 said:

    Thanks, I didn't realize there were so many brands...
    For me, it's a combination of what's easily available and price. Over the counter, it's only PreviDent and 3M, and the 3M was on sale for $3.50, more than double the size of the PD, and has good shelf-life, which meant I could buy a few tubes.
    I imagine the others might be available through local dental offices at a premium.
    The only thing I noticed in the study was the 3M required more mechanical agitation to release the calcium which they didn't do. Isn't that what a good brushing does?

    Here's a pretty good article of several things we should be doing to save our teeth:

    http://www.jcda.ca/article/b85/

    I went with the Clinpro 5000
    I went with the Clinpro 5000 myself. My drug plan will cover the rx for $2.00, well I think they will since I haven't picked up yet. I was using the PD generic but it doesn't have nearly the Ca uptake. Thanks for the suggestion.
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #10
    jtl said:

    I went with the Clinpro 5000
    I went with the Clinpro 5000 myself. My drug plan will cover the rx for $2.00, well I think they will since I haven't picked up yet. I was using the PD generic but it doesn't have nearly the Ca uptake. Thanks for the suggestion.

    Guess I won't be using this,
    Guess I won't be using this, as much as I would have like to. None of the drug stores can even get it. It must only be sold through dental wholesalers which means my insurance won't pay. I may just see if my dentist will order me a couple of tubes and pay retail, it isn't all that expensive.

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