Brushing your teeth is supposed to protect them from damage, but some toothpastes can actually be damaging your teeth. The problem is that many toothpastes are highly abrasive and can wear away tooth enamel. And they’re especially damaging to the dentin under the enamel if it gets exposed. Fortunately, if you know the abrasiveness of the toothpaste, you can choose the right one for you.
In our office, we recommend two toothpastes. Sensodyne ProNamel for maintaining a healthy, low decay risk mouth and CariFree CTX4 for patients with a high risk of dental decay (three or more cavities constitutes high risk for dental decay). Note that both of these toothpastes fall into a low abrasive index.
Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA) Values
The potential for damage from toothpastes can be measured with RDA, which is an objective measure of how much dentin a toothpaste will remove when used for brushing. The RDA for many common toothpastes have been collected, and we’re providing them here so you can make the right choice for you. In general, we recommend toothpastes with an RDA of 70 or less.
| Toothpaste | RDA | Toothpaste | RDA | Toothpaste | RDA |
| Toothbrush with Plain Water | 4 | Rembrandt Mint | 63 | Amway Glister | 110 |
| Plain Baking Soda | 7 | Colgate Enamel Care Advanced Whitening | 65 | Aquafresh Whitening | 113 |
| Arm & Hammer Tooth Powder | 8 | Crest with Scope Whitening | 65 | Arm & Hammer Advance White Gel | 117 |
| Weleda Salt Toothpaste | 15 | Colgate Regular | 68 | Arm & Hammer Sensation Tartar Control | 117 |
| CariFree CTx4 Gel 1100/500 | 30 | Colgate Total | 70 | Fluoridex Daily Defense | 117 |
| CariFree CTx3 Gel | 30 | Arm & Hammer Advance White Sensitive | 70 | Close Up with Baking Soda | 120 |
| Elmex Sensitive Plus | 30 | Colgate 2-in-1 Fresh Mint | 70 | Crest Extra Whitening with Baking Soda | 120 |
| Weleda Plant Tooth Gel | 30 | Crest Rejuvenating Effects Liquid Gel | 74 | Colgate Whitening | 124 |
| Sensodyne ProNamel | 34 | Prevident 5000 Booster | 75 | Crest Maximum Sensitivity | 126 |
| Arm & Hammer Dental Care | 35 | Sensodyne | 79 | Crest Extra Whitening | 130 |
| Weleda Children’s Tooth Gel | 40 | Aim | 80 | Ultra Brite | 133 |
| Arm & Hammer Mentadent Advance Whitening | 42 | Biotene Paste with Fluoride | 80 | Crest MultiCare Fresh Mint | 139 |
| Squiggle Enamel Saver | 44 | Colgate Sensitive Max Strength | 83 | Crest Pro-Health | 140 |
| Weleda Calendula Toothpaste | 45 | Aquafresh Sensitive | 91 | Crest Multicare Whitening | 144 |
| Weleda Pink Toothpaste with Ratanhia | 45 | Tom’s of Maine Regular | 93 | Colgate Baking Soda Whitening | 145 |
| Oxyfresh | 45 | Rembrandt Plus | 94 | Ultra Brite Advanced Whitening Formula | 146 |
| Arm & Hammer Dental Care Sensitive | 48 | Plus White | 94 | Pepsodent | 150 |
| Tom’s of Maine Sensitive | 49 | Oxyfresh with Fluoride | 95 | Crest Rejuvenating Effects | 155 |
| Arm & Hammer Peroxicare Tartar Control | 49 | Crest Regular | 95 | Colgate Tartar Control | 165 |
| Crest with Scope | 51 | Oxyfresh Powder | 97 | Colgate Luminous | 175 |
| Arm & Hammer Peroxicare Regular | 52 | Colgate Enamel Care Natural Whitening | 100 | Colgate 2-in-1 Tartar Control / White | |
| Healthy Teeth & Gums | 52 | Natural White | 101 | FDA Recommended Limit | 200 |
| Rembrandt Original | 53 | Mentadent | 103 | ADA Recommended Limit | 250 |
| Closys | 53 | Arm & Hammer Sensation | 103 | ||
| Arm & Hammer Dental Care PM Bold Mint | 54 | Sensodyne Extra Whitening | 104 | ||
| Perioscience White Care | 57 | Colgate Platinum | 106 | ||
| Tom’s of Maine Children’s | 57 | Arm & Hammer Advance White Extreme Whitening | 106 | ||
| Biotene Gel | 60 | Crest Sensitivity Protection | 107 | ||
| Clinpro 5000 | 62 | Colgate Tartar Control with Baking Soda and Peroxide | 109 | ||
| Supersmile | 62 | Colgate Herbal | 110 |
Have Questions?
If you have questions about your oral health and hygiene in Las Vegas, please call (702) 873-0324 today for an appointment with Dr. James B. Polley.
