Does Charcoal Toothpaste Really Clean Your Teeth?

Claire Chung for PureWow

Without a doubt, one of the about popular ingredients to emerge in the concluding five years is charcoal—specifically activated charcoal. Known for its detoxifying backdrop, activated charcoal first gained popularity in the wellness realm and was speedily co-opted by the beauty industry to offer external cleansing benefits (i.e., in the form of charcoal-infused shampoos and hair treatments, also as a slew of face washes, toners, masks and deodorants).

It should come up as no surprise, and so, that the inky carbon has fabricated its way to the dental care aisles, which got us thinking: Does charcoal toothpaste work? The short respond is aye, simply only on certain stains (which we'll go into ahead).

We asked Dr. Brian Kantor, Cosmetic Dentist of Lowenberg, Lituchy & Kantor in New York Metropolis and Dr. Brian Harris of Harris Dental in Phoenix, Arizona to weigh in with their honest thoughts.

Does charcoal toothpaste really whiten your teeth?

For starters, when talking about teeth whitening options, "information technology'southward important to understand that there is a difference betwixt chemical teeth whitening and mechanical teeth whitening. Chemical teeth whitening uses chemicals to remove intrinsic or deeper stains, and mechanical teeth whitening uses abrasive ingredients that are added to toothpaste to remove extrinsic or surface level stains," explains Harris.

Extrinsic stains refer to the discoloration that many of us experience from diverse lifestyle factors like "smoking and eating foods with dyes or drinking things that stain teeth similar coffee, tea or carmine vino," says Harris. "These kinds of stains are best treated with mechanical teeth whitening."

That said, "in theory, activated charcoal's natural adhesive qualities allow it bind to surface-staining culprits like coffee, tea, wine and plaque, to help remove them from your teeth. However, activated charcoal's dental benefits stop at removing surface stains. If your teeth are naturally darker or yellowish, you'll demand to buy a product with a bleaching agent like hydrogen peroxide or endeavor an in-part treatment," advises Kantor.

Does charcoal toothpaste damage your teeth at all?

Co-ordinate to Kantor, it could, if used improperly. "When y'all brush your teeth with whatever textile that has annoying properties (like charcoal), you take to be enlightened of the potential effects information technology has on the gums and enamel. If the paste is as well gritty information technology can harm the enamel or outer layer of your teeth, and so you'll want to avoid scrubbing it aggressively."

Harris agrees, alarm that "if you are non careful, the act of trying to whiten your teeth tin actually make them more than xanthous as the enamel is worn away. The other risk that comes from charcoal is that it can irritate your gums and go out them slightly red or inflamed."

Is there any benefit to using a charcoal toothpaste over a non-charcoal one?

"I recommend a charcoal toothpaste to remove surface stains only," says Kantor. "It is difficult to really whiten a molar with simply toothpaste, but those with charcoal tin be pretty effective at removing superficial stains. That said, Kantor recommends treating it more "equally a supplement to your regular toothpaste" (that is, one that has fluoride in it) and not in place of it. "We need to employ a regular toothpaste in our daily regimen to fight dental disuse," he says.

TL;DR: Use a regular toothpaste twice daily and if you actually want to use i with charcoal, use information technology sparingly (recall: in one case a calendar week or once every other week), like to the fashion you lot'd approach exfoliating your confront.

What are the pros of using a charcoal toothpaste?

• They're effective at removing superficial stains caused past certain foods and drinks.
• They offer an easy and more affordable way to whiten teeth without requiring a dissever treatment.
• They're a nice supplement to your regular dental routine.
• They offering an alternative for people with sensitive teeth who can't tolerate brightening ingredients similar hydrogen peroxide.

What are the cons of using a charcoal toothpaste?

• They can be as well abrasive if you lot apply them too oft (or as well aggressively).
• If they're overused, they tin harm the enamel and/or irritate your gums.
• They won't do much for deeper, intrinsic stains.

Bottom line: Does charcoal toothpaste really work?

"Yes, technically they practice.  Charcoal is an abrasive so when it'due south added to toothpaste it volition help to remove extrinsic stains caused by food and drinks that tin stain teeth," says Harris. Only, again, because it bears repeating: Don't overdo information technology. "The biggest risk with charcoal toothpaste is that they tin be too abrasive and cause the habiliment down of enamel over time, which is the part of the tooth construction that makes our teeth white."

To borrow another pare-care metaphor, think of your enamel as your peel bulwark. Just equally you don't want to over-exfoliate your peel and cause inflammation, you don't desire to over-abrade your enamel and wear it down.

And if you lot're feeling a bit wary near charcoal now, Dr. Harris is a proponent of bentonite clay. "It's abrasive enough to whiten teeth simply not so abrasive that it causes harmful side effects. The bigger do good is that bentonite clay, which is currently existence used in many dazzler products, has detoxifying and antibacterial properties, which promote healthier gums, while whitening the teeth at the aforementioned fourth dimension. As fourth dimension goes on, expect to see more good for you whitening toothpaste options available, but for now, merely exist enlightened of some of the risks that come with activated charcoal toothpastes.

Store some of our favorite charcoal toothpastes: Hi Activated Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste ($5); Colgate Charcoal Teeth Whitening Toothpaste ($five); Tom's of Maine Charcoal Anti-Crenel Toothpaste ($half dozen); Native Charcoal with Mint Fluoride Toothpaste ($10); Davids Natural Peppermint + Charcoal Toothpaste ($10); Kopari Coconut Charcoal Toothpaste ($12); Schmidts Wondermint with Activated Charcoal Toothpaste ($22 for pack of three)

RELATED: Does Mint Actually Make Your Teeth Make clean? Aye and No, Say the Experts

Source: https://www.purewow.com/beauty/does-charcoal-toothpaste-work

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