I’ll be the first to say that charcoal toothpaste looks kind of cool. After all, it’s as jet black as wearing a pair of sunglasses at night. Before you squeeze this supposedly miraculous toothpaste onto your toothbrush, however, it’s smart to learn more. Does charcoal toothpaste actually whiten teeth? Does it damage tooth enamel?

What’s With All the Hype Around Activated Charcoal Toothpaste?

These days, activated charcoal is being used in everything from beauty creams to digestive cleanses. It’s a great absorbent, so the theory is that it acts like a magnet that captures bacteria, germs, toxins and other contaminants. At least in part, there is scientific support for this idea since activated charcoal is used in hospital emergency rooms to treat problems such as drug overdose.

Where things get a little shady (no pun intended) is that charcoal toothpaste manufacturers claim it can have the same effect on tooth stains. They say charcoal whitening toothpastes “absorb” stains and leave your teeth sparkling white.

Does Charcoal Toothpaste Really Whiten Your Teeth?

Activated charcoal can help remove surface stains from teeth. This is all about the abrasion. Charcoal toothpaste can scrub away the dark film left by coffee stains, tobacco stains and other stains outside the teeth.

What charcoal whitening toothpaste can’t do is change the color of your actual teeth. If you have naturally darker teeth or age-related staining, charcoal won’t change a thing. For that, you would need a professional bleaching solution for teeth whitening.

Does Charcoal Toothpaste Hurt Your Teeth?

Since people have only really started using activated charcoal in toothpastes fairly recently, the jury is still out on what it may do to teeth. As a mom, however, there a few things about charcoal toothpaste that make me nervous:

Charcoal toothpaste is aggressive: You know how exfoliating soaps have a gritty feel to them? Toothpaste with activated charcoal is the same. The small charcoal particles can slowly wear down the enamel of teeth as your brush, potentially leaving your teeth more sensitive and vulnerable than normal.

Charcoal toothpaste doesn’t usually have any fluoride: Your teeth have fluoride, a mineral that helps to strengthen the hard enamel layer that protects them. Fluoride is good for your teeth, which is why it’s usually added to toothpastes. Unfortunately, many charcoal toothpastes don’t contain this important mineral.

Charcoal toothpaste can make it easier for cavities to appear: When you combine the harshness of activated charcoal with the loss of fluoride your teeth need, the result can be more tooth decay. I wouldn’t recommend that as a mom, and I really don’t want to visit the dentist more often for my own teeth either.

Charcoal particles can make some teeth look darker: Tiny charcoal particles can be difficult to remove completely. This can leave a black or gray outline around the edges of teeth. If your teeth have any tiny cracks, charcoal can get stuck inside, making the area more noticeable.

Activated charcoal can irritate your gums: If you have sensitive gums, you may not be happy to hear that charcoal can make them sore. What can happen is that the tiny particles can get stuck underneath your gums, repeatedly scratching them and triggering inflammation.

If you do decide to use charcoal toothpaste (hopefully a brand that does contain fluoride), don’t use it for everyday brushing. Only use it when you think your teeth need a deep cleaning. Try not to brush too aggressively. That way you can take good care of your precious enamel.

As a parent, you want to take good care of your child’s teeth. At the same time, getting them to brush after every meal probably isn’t realistic. Can sugar-free gum help prevent cavities?

Is Chewing Gum Good for Your Kids’ Teeth?

Chewing is a great way to reduce cavities for kids and adults alike. When kids chew, their mouths produce more saliva. This helps prevent tooth decay by neutralizing the acid that causes cavities. Saliva also washes away leftover food particles. Sugar-free gum isn’t a replacement for some good old-fashioned brushing, but it’s a nice way provide dental hygiene after lunch or dinner.

That said, the type of gum you choose is very important. The kind of gum your kids want you to buy — bubble gum with fruit fillings — is definitely NOT good for teeth. Instead of preventing tooth decay, bubble gum encourages bacteria to grow. It also pushes the sugar right up against your child’s teeth, easily causing a bunch of cavities.

Is Sugar-Free Gum Safe for Kids?

This is a tricky question because it actually involves two things: if artificial sweeteners are safe for kids and if gum is dangerous as far as choking is concerned. The answers can vary depending on your child and your family.

The Oral Health Foundation recommends not giving gum to kids under the age of seven. At the same time, it acknowledges that parents are the best judges of when children are ready.

As far as the safety of artificial sweeteners goes, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that there’s no evidence these ingredients can hurt children at all (unless you have a rare condition called phenylketonuria). Also, sugar-free gum has relatively tiny levels of artificial sweeteners compared to other products.

To give you an idea of the amount, a stick of chewing gum has around 6–8 milligrams while a can of diet soda has 180 milligrams. Your kids would need to eat the equivalent of 24 sweetener packets to meet the FDA’s max limit. If you’re still concerned, choose gum made with xylitol, erythritol or other natural sugar alcohols.

Is It Bad for Kids To Swallow Gum?

This is part myth and part rare-but-weird concern. First, nothing usually happens if school-age kids swallow gum. It will literally be out of their systems in a day or two. The only exception to this is if children are constipated and swallow a LOT of gum. So, take this urban legend with a grain of salt.

Are There Any Alternatives to Sugar-Free Gum That Kids Like?

Remember, it’s the act of chewing, not sugar-free gum itself, that helps prevent cavities. Depending on the age of your kids, you can offer them naturally crispy or chewy foods instead. Here are some of my favorites:

Carrot sticks
Apple slices
Celery sticks
Snap peas
Jicama
Cucumber sticks
Rice cakes
Whole grain bagels

My kids love foods with a crunchy texture, so these veggies are a big hit. I also keep a few packs of sugar-free gum around for when we need something quick to chew. I’ve noticed that as long as I have everything already cut in the fridge, they actually go for the fresh fruit and veggies more often than gum.

Tag: Teeth

Is Charcoal Toothpaste Good For Whitening Teeth?