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Charcoal Toothpaste, does it really work?
Charcoal or ash has been a staple dental cleansing product for centuries, predominantly in African and South Asian countries. The initial study of how such components come around to becoming popular dental essentials is unknown however in more recent times it has been attributed to poor economy and lack of money for people to purchase regular toothpaste (as it is known to masses). Even today, such ancient traditions are sworn by in these countries. We shall delve further and see...
Charcoal or ash has been a staple dental cleansing product for centuries, predominantly in African and South Asian countries. The initial study of how such components come around to becoming popular dental essentials is unknown however in more recent times it has been attributed to poor economy and lack of money for people to purchase regular toothpaste (as it is known to masses).
Even today, such ancient traditions are sworn by in these countries. We shall delve further and see why such historic methods have been adopted by one of the latest health & beauty trends marketed towards both men and women.
A few years ago, during infancy, there were little studies conducted regarding carbon toothpaste. Questions of teeth whitening effectiveness without fluoride and the deep absorbent properties of carbon that would “water” down the effectiveness of other supporting agents were raised.
Due to lack of analysis at the time and ambiguous findings, the best advice given to those keen on trying carbon toothpaste was to check the product contents.
Boutique brands were quick to jump on the craze and introduced to the market “toothpaste” containing activated charcoal and other agents. Some even branded it as carbon toothpaste.
The most concrete information we had during this time was that the activated charcoal did have some effect due to its mild abrasive properties and extrinsic stain absorption however no evidence was found at the time that intrinsic staining was effected in any way.
The biggest frown on charcoal toothpaste has been lack of key essentials typical to any other toothpaste such as fluoride. Additionally, as a result to its natural black colour, there was evidence to suggest it enhanced the presence of cracks and crevices resulting in lack of aesthetic appeal.Charcoal toothpaste has been highly recommended for maintenance of teeth appearance following professional cleaning and polishing by dentists however emphasis has been placed on charcoal toothpaste not being a replacement to normal fluoride toothpaste. It is seen as a supporting product for upkeep.
In more recent times, brands such as Colgate have joined the party also with their own formula. According to their study, charcoal was in fact present in toothpaste recipes in the 19th century however even large multinationals such as them have conceded that more research is required to confidently stand by claims of its safety and effectiveness.
Is charcoal toothpaste just another BS craze? Well there are many people with first hand experience that swear by its effectiveness however there are some that simply treat it as novelty. The team at Elegant Gents have not come across any convincing horror stories thus far so hit us up with your experiences.
There are clearly some benefits of charcoal toothpaste, however to what degree is debatable. Is it worth a try, we would say so.
We are in the process of adding products to our dental section and amongst our selection of products, we are pleased to announce charcoal toothpaste and related charcoal products shall be available.
Keep smiling!
