Nickel: Colgate Total?

[Airencracken]

Is it better? I feel filmy like stuff on my teeth after I use it, but my retainer doesn't seem to funk up as much at night when I use it... Any reason I should get it over other toothpastes?

[nickel]

stay away from Colgate Total. bad stuff. reason being it contains the chemical triclosan. triclosan is an antibacterial agent that they put in toothpaste and soap, but the issue with it is it's over-use.
to quote one source, Boston-based microbiologist Laura McMurry and colleagues at the Tufts University School of Medicine:

McMurry said triclosan, a disinfectant widely used in products as diverse as kitchen sponges, soap, fabrics and plastics, is capable of forcing the emergence of ``superbugs'' that it cannot kill. And experiments have shown that it may not be the all-out germ-killer scientists once thought it was.

and it is being overused. look at all the anti-bacterial stuff on the market now. you don't need hardly any of it. anti-bacterial soap should really only be used in hospital/dental settings and not in the average home.


The more a drug is used (triclosan), the more chances bacteria have to evolve resistance. Unless all the bacteria in an infection are killed, the ones that survive exposure to a drug will be those that resist it in some way, while the weaker ones die first. Thus, a species of bacteria can evolve resistance, especially if this happens over and over again. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming a bigger and bigger problem. They range from penicillin-resistant gonorrhea to super-strains of staphylococcus that cannot be killed by vancomycin, the strongest antibiotic available.


DAILY USE OF TRICLOSAN MAY BE UNWISE
``We did find those triclosan-resistant mutants in the lab; we have not looked for them out in the real world. But the point is not that we've proved that it's really happened out there in the real world but that there is the potential.''
Considering this, she said, using triclosan daily in the home -- in products ranging from children's soaps to toothpaste to ``germ-free'' cutting boards -- may be unwise.

``As I understand it, washing hands with soap, the goal of it is to wash off the bacteria. I think that unless it's in a setting where you are in a hospital or you are in a home with a really sick person, I think it is overkill,'' she said.

``That's my suspicion. It's putting a chemical in there that I'm not sure is necessary.''


http://www.nutriteam.com/triclo.htm

[Merlin]

They range from penicillin-resistant gonorrhea


Oh no, say it ain't so! :eek:

[Dave_7]

But it keeps my breath so fresh for so much longer! I'll continue to brave it alone with my Colgate Total. But to be safe, should I brush less often ;)


Dave.

[_=DeltaForce=_]

so what is the best toothpaste?

[nickel]

so what is the best toothpaste?
i don't have any negativity towards any other toothpaste really.
if you build up a lot of plaque or stain i'd recommend one with baking soda in it. otherwise any toothpaste with fluoride will do.

[Yossarian]

bic white out really makes your teeth white!

[nickel]

stop sniffing the white-out Yoss :P

[Airencracken]

huh. Damn, like I said, makes my retainer much less funky. :( I guess I'll go for some other toothpaste now.

[nickel]

it's a removable retainer? use polident on it.

[ialsohaveadream]

and it is being overused. look at all the anti-bacterial stuff on the market now. you don't need hardly any of it. anti-bacterial soap should really only be used in hospital/dental settings and not in the average home.


Thank you, Dr. Nickel! That's what I've been trying to tell my antibacterial-loving fiance. I'm going to use you as my backup. I didn't know the Total had antibacterials in it, we've just had general arguments over whether its necessary in other products (mostly cleaning stuff).

[welfareloser]

it does actually help in your mouth ... for now. but yep, overuse and resistance... bad.

now, all the other cleaning stuff that they use triclosan in is not only a superbug maker, IT DOESN'T HELP ANYWAY!!! it's just a marketing trick; people think, hmm, ANTIBACTERIAL soap, my god, that's better than regular old soap... nope. triclosan needs to be in contact with the surface in question for 15 minutes anyway, and nobody scrubs a sink or their hands for that long... it's a waste, and dangerous to our future health to boot.