Hydroxyapatite Vs. Fluoride: How Do They Examine?

Dentists have recommended fluoride toothpaste for stronger cavity-resistant enamel for many years.¹ It’s nonetheless thought of the “gold commonplace” in dental faculties, regardless of its security issues.

However there’s a brand new ingredient on the town confirmed to be simply as efficient as fluoride and fully non-toxic.

It’s known as hydroxyapatite. Hydroxyapatite toothpaste has changed fluoride toothpaste as what I like to recommend to all of my sufferers. However what’s hydroxyapatite toothpaste?

On this weblog put up, we’ll find out about hydroxyapatite and try how fluoride compares with it. 

How Does Fluoride Toothpaste Work?

Your enamel have an outer protecting known as enamel that’s made up of calcium and phosphate. Your saliva additionally accommodates calcium and phosphate that always bathe your enamel. These minerals preserve your enamel sturdy.

Micro organism present in cavities can break down meals particles and create an acidic atmosphere in your mouth. This acidic atmosphere is harsh and may strip away these helpful minerals from the surfaces of your enamel. This course of is named demineralization.  

The fluoride in fluoridated toothpaste works by:

1. Teaming up with the calcium and phosphate in your saliva and enamel to kind a compound known as fluorapatite. This compound appears like a crystal lattice (apatite crystal lattice).
2. Protecting demineralized enamel with the extra acid-resistant fluorapatite. This remineralizes the enamel, restores their power, and protects it from additional injury by acid. 

How Does Hydroxyapatite Toothpaste Work?

Hydroxyapatite is a type of calcium that makes up 97% of your tooth enamel and almost 70% of the dentin of your enamel. 

The remainder of your enamel is definitely composed of water, collagen, and different proteins.

Hydroxyapatite is absorbed by the enamel and fills the enamel fissures attributable to demineralization.

Probably the most extensively studied kind of hydroxyapatite is nano-hydroxyapatite. Toothpaste that accommodates nano-hydroxyapatite has particle sizes between 20-80 nanometers (nm). Due to its small measurement, it may well insert into actually small areas, which results in higher advantages. 

In contrast to fluoride, hydroxyapatite works by:

1. Remineralizing enamel from inside, reaching the innermost a part of a dental cavity
2. Binding to plaque and dangerous micro organism in our mouth

How does Hydroxyapatite Examine to Fluoride in Efficacy?

With regards to which toothpaste is extra environment friendly, there may be actually no distinction between hydroxyapatite and fluoride toothpastes.

One study in contrast 10% hydroxyapatite with 500 ppm F− (amine fluoride), which dentists sometimes prescribe.² The researchers found that the ten% hydroxyapatite labored simply in addition to 500ppm F− for remineralization and lesion depth (LD) discount.

The conclusion of the research was that hydroxyapatite toothpaste is the same as fluoride toothpaste on the subject of efficacy.

Advantages of Hydroxyapatite over Fluoride Toothpastes

Each fluoride and hydroxyapatite can remineralize tooth construction, however right here’s why I desire to advocate hydroxyapatite over fluoride:

1. Oral microbiome pleasant: Though each have antibacterial properties, fluoride kills decay-causing micro organism and a few good micro organism. Then again, hydroxyapatite doesn’t kill the micro organism. It prevents harmful bacteria from attaching to the enamel.³
2. Fortifies enamel: Hydroxyapatite can improve the microhardness of enamel.⁴ The coating of hydroxyapatite reinforces the enamel higher than the fluorapatite coating.
3. Non-toxic: Hydroxyapatite is biomimetic.⁵ There aren’t any unwanted effects with hydroxyapatite—the truth is, it’s protected sufficient to swallow your entire tube of toothpaste! With fluoride, alternatively, there’s a poison management label on the tube, and overexposure causes dental and skeletal fluorosis.
4. Child-friendly: At an early age, children don’t have full control over swallowing and may ingest giant quantities of toothpaste.⁶ When this occurs, the fluoride in toothpaste can get absorbed into the bloodstream and trigger dental fluorosis (a change within the look of tooth enamel). Toothpaste that accommodates hydroxyapatite reduces the danger of fluorosis.
5. Whitens: Hydroxyapatite toothpaste has been proven to lighten the shade of the enamel with out the assistance of any further abrasives or whitening brokers.⁷

Is Fluorapatite Stronger than Hydroxyapatite?

Fluorapatite is much less soluble than hydroxyapatite. Which means that in acidic circumstances, fluorapatite is stronger and extra immune to demineralization. 

Nevertheless, this doesn’t imply that fluorapatite toothpaste is best than hydroxyapatite toothpaste. In truth, studies present that hydroxyapatite toothpaste is simply nearly as good as fluorapatite toothpaste, with an additional advantage — it helps with dental hypersensitivity.⁸ 

Ought to I Change to Hydroxyapatite Toothpaste?

To me, it is a no-brainer. When you have a greater various to fluoride toothpaste and it’s non-toxic, why wouldn’t you? 

To most dentists, it is a no-brainer as effectively—nonetheless, fluoride continues to be taught because the “gold commonplace” in dental faculties, and there are nonetheless some dentists on the market who could be leery of hydroxyapatite. If that is your dentist, ship them the analysis!

I like to recommend everybody discuss to their dentist about switching to a hydroxyapatite toothpaste, particularly the next classes of individuals:

• Pregnant girls
• Individuals who dwell in areas with fluoridated water provide
• Infants and kids, particularly if they’re under the age of six.
• Folks with delicate enamel, as hydroxyapatite treats the foundation reason behind sensitivity.⁹

Which Toothpaste Manufacturers Comprise Hydroxyapatite?

There are two manufacturers of hydroxyapatite toothpaste manufacturers I like to recommend to readers as a result of I take advantage of them myself they usually even have an acceptable focus of hydroxyapatite to be efficacious. There are various hydroxyapatite toothpastes on the market, sadly, that don’t include sufficient of the ingredient to have an impact—should you’re undecided, e-mail the corporate and ask for the focus. It needs to be 15% or extra.

Boka Ela Mint Toothpaste

RiseWell Mineral Toothpaste

RiseWell Kids’ Mineral Toothpaste (birthday cake taste)

Backside line

The most important benefit of utilizing toothpaste with hydroxyapatite is that it remineralizes your enamel without any side effects, not like fluoride that’s poisonous in giant portions.

Hydroxyapatite is of course current inside our physique and constitutes most of our enamel.

Each fluoride and hydroxyapatite are scientifically confirmed to reverse dental decay—why not select the much less poisonous one?