Is charcoal toothpaste good for you? a dentist's take

In this age of instagram, youtube and influencers, we keep coming across various trends. A few health trends have been quite popular but they can do more harm than good like- staring in the sun or eating your own placenta. Now you can add charcoal toothpaste to the list.

Charcoal as a health trend picked up in 2016 when it was put in everything from pizza buns to black lattes to goth ice-creams. We see videos on media where a tablet of charcoal is put in dirty water and it magically pulls out all impurities from the water and make it crystal white.

The charm for charcoal toothpastes lies in its aesthetic and eye-catching appeal on a visual media like instagram and partly as perceived detoxifier. People feel that like charcoal pulls out impurities from water it will pull out stain from teeth and make them whiter. Researchers have however found no evidence about the effectiveness of charcoal toothpaste.

Experts opine that this trend is no more than a fashionable, marketing 'gimmick'. Worse still Charcoal toothpastes can actually cause tooth decay, staining and abrasion... Things you would not want from your toothpaste.

Some of the charcoal toothpastes can contain abrasives which can lead to wearing and staining of teeth. Moreover, due to distinct lack of fluoride in these toothpastes, teeth become more prone to decay

THE BOTTOM LINE

If you want to keep your pearly whites in tip top condition stick to regular fluoridated toothpastes and occassional dentist assissted teeth-whitening!

STAY HEALTHY! :)

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