Chemistry of Toothpaste

The Chemistry of Toothpaste Toothpaste is not a new thing. It has been traced back to Ancient Egypt. They used a powdered rock and vinegar, which created a chemical reaction that dissolves the plaque on teeth. In 1900’s people used hydrogen peroxide and baking soda or chalk, pulverised brisk and salt as a toothpaste. Toothpastes today, are mostly made up of abrasives, surfactants, a detergent, a thickener, a moisturizer, water, flavouring agents, coloring, sweeteners, fluoride and desensitizers. Toothpastes also have TSSP in it. The gritty feeling of toothpastes is the abrasives. They help get rid of plaque, stains, and polishing teeth. Today the most common abrasives are made up of hydrated silica, aluminium oxides, and calcium carbonate. Different phosphates of calcium or aluminium can be also used, but are less common. Detergents, like abrasives, also provide cleaning power. They loosen leftover food and plaque so that the toothbrush can scrub them away. Detergents have cleaning agents called surfactants. Surfactants are in toothpastes to loosen stuck-on food and plaque so your toothbrush can get rid of it better. The most common surfactant is sodium lauryl sulphate. Fluoride fights tooth decay by strengthening the enamel. It does this by a chemical reaction called remineralisation. Fluoride is most frequently in the form of sodium fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate, or stannous fluoride. Desensitizers help reduce the sensitivity of tooth surfaces below the gum line. TSSP stands for tetrasodium pyrophosphate. It helps remove magnesium and calcium build-up in saliva so they cannot form tartar and plaque on teeth. TSSP is very bitter, so normally there is a sweetener added, sodium saccharin, to reduce the bitterness. The majority of the foods people eat are acids, take malic acid (apple), tannic acid (tea), and tartric acid (carrot), for example. They are all acids, toothpastes act as a base so the acids don’t attack the enamel on teeth. A major purpose