Before toothpaste appeared, people used salt water to brush their teeth, and later they used tooth powder to brush their teeth. Tooth powder is a mixture of calcium carbonate and soap powder, which can only keep teeth clean and remove stains. Dental powder has a high pH value, which is easy to cause inflammation of oral tissues. After World War II, toothpaste with therapeutic effect began to appear, among which toothpaste synthesized with detergent sodium lauroyl sarcosine was very popular. This toothpaste can not only reduce oral inflammation, but also has a fresh smell and inhibit dental caries.
In 1950s, some experts found that fluoride could prevent dental caries, so toothpaste containing stannous fluoride appeared in 1955. After several years' development and evolution, sodium fluorophosphate, sodium fluoride and amine fluoride have been added to toothpaste. Fluoride can prevent dental caries because fluoride ions react with surface substances of teeth, making these substances smooth and teeth firm. Fluoride toothpaste can also inhibit the acid production of oral bacteria, change the environment suitable for bacterial survival in the oral cavity, inhibit bacterial reproduction and reduce tooth decay.
Of course, people have different views on fluoride, but there is a general conclusion that a small amount of fluoride is beneficial to strengthening teeth, and excessive fluoride will lead to fluorosis. Therefore, many experts still hold a positive attitude towards the use of fluoride toothpaste.
At present, toothpaste circulating in China's market is mainly divided into three categories: ordinary toothpaste, fluoride toothpaste and medicinal toothpaste, among which fluoride toothpaste is dominant. The main components of ordinary toothpaste are friction agent with decontamination and polishing functions, crystallization agent similar to soap, wetting agent to avoid toothpaste drying, adhesive, aromatic agent to increase fragrance and so on. Fluoride toothpaste is added with fluoride on this basis, so it has both cleaning and caries prevention functions. Chinese herbal toothpaste also has antibacterial and dental caries prevention effects. However, it is obviously not as strong as foreign-funded enterprises in terms of funds and advertising, and it is not valued by consumers.
It is understood that China has become a big country in toothpaste production in the world, and its output ranks first in the world. Toothpaste manufacturers, led by wholly foreign-owned or joint ventures, publicize the concept of fluoride-containing caries prevention in a high-profile manner, and mark ingredients such as "fluoride", "difluoro" and "calcium fluoride" in prominent positions in the packaging, focusing on promoting fluoride-containing brands. On the packaging of Crest, there is the certification mark of Chinese Stomatological Association-"Crest fluoride toothpaste formula has been tested and verified to have the function of preventing dental caries." Colgate, another foreign-funded enterprise, has a similar propaganda language. The package of Chinese toothpaste, which has been a joint venture, reads: "The authoritative organization of the World Dental Union has verified that brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste such as China is beneficial to your teeth health."
Many experts are worried. They suggested that while promoting the prevention of dental caries, fluoride toothpaste should also tell everyone what harm excessive intake of fluoride will bring. You know, fluoride toothpaste is not suitable for use in high fluoride areas. In China, there are some high fluorine areas in other provinces, cities and autonomous regions except Shanghai! Because the market is almost monopolized by fluoride toothpaste, consumers in high fluoride areas have little choice in the face of fluoride toothpaste! Some people say angrily that tap water has been defluorinated for many years, and how to use it in the field of toothpaste has become a science!
It is understood that fluorine is still bullying the weak and afraid of the hard. People in developed countries eat beef and drink milk, and their physical fitness is good, and fluorosis rarely occurs. This is not the case in developing countries. People's physique is relatively poor, especially the poor people in backward areas, and their ability to dissolve toxins is poor, so the probability of suffering from fluorosis will be higher.
Professor Sun Dianjun, an expert on endemic diseases in China and director of the Institute of Endemic Fluorosis, believes that nearly 30 years of research has confirmed that any fluoride-adding method to prevent dental caries can only be used in areas with no or low fluoride water sources. Because fluorine is a toxic substance, it can kill plants, fish, turtles, shrimps, crabs and all kinds of shellfish without too much dose, and even kill cattle and sheep!
For children, fluoride toothpaste is more dangerous. Because children have poor control over swallowing impulses, it is easy to swallow sweet toothpaste. Experts believe that fluoride in toothpaste is enough to kill a child!
Perhaps out of antipathy to fluoride toothpaste, China Oral Care Industry Association and Tianqi Toothpaste Factory launched a "healthy and public welfare fluoride-free campaign", put forward slogans such as "reducing fluoride intake and preventing fluorosis", and launched a signature activity of "using fluoride toothpaste products carefully and refusing fluoride from the mouth". It has aroused widespread concern in society.
Another expert believes that in the past decades, the clinical trials of fluoride toothpaste for preventing dental caries have exceeded 100 times, and the results are all positive, which has been recommended by the World Health Organization and the International Dental Union. Moreover, the fluoride absorbed by fluoride toothpaste is very limited, so long as it is used in excess, it will not cause harm to human body. In the world market, fluoride toothpaste has accounted for about 90%, which also shows its reliability.
Liu Yingqun, a professor of stomatology at Harbin Medical University, believes that consumers should first know whether their area is high in fluoride. If so, it is best not to use fluoride toothpaste. They can choose fluoride-free Chinese herbal toothpaste such as "Tianqi" and "Zanthoxylum nitidum", which is safe at present and can also achieve the effect of preventing dental caries. In non-high fluoride areas, it is not a big problem for adults to use fluoride toothpaste, but it is not recommended for children under 7 years old to avoid swallowing it by mistake, especially for children under 3 years old. The medical staff in their stomatology department have their own practice: brush their teeth with toothpaste only once a day in the morning or evening, and brush their teeth with water or salt water at other times, which may avoid excessive intake of fluoride.