at Dental Associates of Corona will talk more about discerning abrasive levels in oral hygiene products.
The Abrasion Scale
A balance is necessary in formulating a toothpaste that will do everything you need for proper preventive dental care without damaging your teeth. Particles in your toothpaste create that grainy feel and provide the scrubbing action that will clean plaque, bacteria, and debris from the surfaces of your teeth. While it’s easy to fall into a line of thinking that the more abrasive particles, the cleaner the teeth. Unfortunately, even as strong as your tooth enamel is, it can become damaged. For this reason, clinical research has been done to measure abrasiveness in toothpaste through use of something called RDA (radioactive dentin abrasion) value. This puts the strength of toothpaste on a scale between 30 and over 200.
RDA Value Examples
RDA value is determined in a complex testing process using radioactively marked dentin samples that are brushed with various products. After the samples are considered to be sufficiently abraded, they are measured by radiation intensity of the remaining slurry of toothpaste. Higher RDA values mean more abrasiveness in any given toothpaste. The American Dental Association recommends an absolute max of 250. However, the FDA sets a more conservative limit of 200. To provide an example of common toothpaste brands and their RDA levels, baking soda based Arm & Hammer Dental Care is low on the scale at only 35. Crest toothpaste is mid-range with an RDA reading of about 95. On the higher end of the scale would be a product such as Colgate 2-in-1 Tartar Control and Whitening.
Dental Checkups from Corona Dentists
If you are concerned with which oral hygiene products are the best for your teeth, your dentists in Corona would be happy to answer your questions at your next dental checkup. Contact our 92879 dental office by calling (951) 273-9580. We serve patients in the 92879 area and surrounding communities.
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