Is triclosan in toothpaste carcinogenic? Did you choose the right one

can triclosan cause cancer? Pending

The debate about triclosan actually came from the experiment of a teacher at Virginia Tech University in the United States. It was found that the product containing triclosan reacted with the tap water containing chlorine to form a substance called “corofon”, that is, chloroform. Chloroform was once used as an anesthetic. Animal experiments have found that this substance can cause damage to the heart and liver, has mild teratogenicity, and can induce liver cancer in mice, but there is no research data on human carcinogenesis so far.

Ma Yi, Secretary General of the China daily necessities Industry Association, said in an interview with reporters on the 2nd that it was this research result that had led to the debate about “triclosan causing cancer” at home and abroad as early as 2005. Today, the reason why the old things are mentioned again is that the US Food and drug administration has recently given the latest assessment progress on the safety of triclosan. Is triclosan really so terrible? Ma Yi said that at present, the question about it is still pending.

national standard of toothpaste: no more than 0.3%

Ma Yi said that experts in the industry had conducted experiments. The subjects used toothpaste containing triclosan and ordinary chlorinated tap water, and the brushing time exceeded the expected time of ordinary people, but the chloroform content formed did not reach the measurable range. In the new national standard for toothpaste published in 2009, triclosan was included in the permitted preservatives, but it was specified that it should not exceed 0.3%.

Kang Jingwu, director of the analysis Office of the Shanghai Institute of organic chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that triclosan is a bacteriostatic agent that can kill bacteria when added. In some countries, it is also added to mouthwash and toothpaste. Some experts say that this kind of thing is carcinogenic, but now they say that it will only cause cancer if it is used in high doses. The half lethal dose of triclosan per kilogram of mice is 3800 mg. From this point of view, triclosan is not too toxic.

To choose toothpaste, you should first know that toothpaste is not a magic weapon for healthy teeth. It is only an auxiliary product for brushing teeth. It has the function of friction, removing plaque, cleaning and polishing the tooth surface, and refreshing the mouth. At present, the toothpaste used in China is divided into three categories: ordinary toothpaste, fluoride toothpaste and medicated toothpaste.

The main ingredients of ordinary toothpaste include abrasives, detergents, wetting agents, preservatives, and aromatics, which have the same functions as ordinary toothpaste. If the teeth are in good health, ordinary toothpaste can be selected. However, with the development of science and technology, people have found that fluoride can prevent dental caries, and many years of practice have proved that after fluoride comes into contact with teeth, oxyapatite, which is easy to be dissolved by acid, forms insoluble fluoroapatite, thus improving the corrosion resistance of teeth. Studies have proved that the incidence rate of dental caries can be reduced by about 40% if this toothpaste is commonly used. Fluoride includes sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, stannous fluoride and sodium monofluorophosphate.

what side effects will toothpaste produce

However, we should know that fluorine is a toxic substance. If the human body absorbs too much, it will cause fluorosis. According to the national regulations, the free fluorine of fluoride toothpaste should be between 400-1200pm. Special attention should be paid to the fact that children before the age of 3-4 should not use it, because 1 / 8-1 / 4 of the toothpaste may be swallowed by them. Medicated toothpaste is to add a certain amount of Medicine on the basis of ordinary toothpaste. When brushing teeth, the toothpaste reaches the tooth surface or the surrounding environment of the teeth, reduces dental plaque through the action of medicine, and thus plays the role of preventing caries and periodontal diseases.

At present, medicated toothpaste is highly favored by people, and it is an ideal way to use toothpaste to promote drugs with preventive or therapeutic effects. But medicated toothpaste also has its disadvantages.

First of all, the toothpaste can’t be kept in the mouth for too long, that is, it can’t be rinsed out, which makes it difficult for the drug to exert its efficacy in a short time. Moreover, the dose of the special drug must avoid stimulating the soft tissues in the mouth, so it can’t be raised to a sufficient effective concentration. The effect of the toothpaste itself is often blocked by the dirt in the mouth or limited by the morphological characteristics, so it’s difficult to reach the area where the disease really occurs.

Secondly, the drugs in toothpaste often undergo other chemical changes due to long-term storage, and lose their original efficacy. The effective drugs are often not suitable to be put into toothpaste due to their peculiar smell. In addition, there is the problem of drug resistance. All these factors indicate that it is not suitable to use one kind of drug toothpaste for a long time. Drug toothpaste is a good idea. However, to really achieve the effect of preventing oral diseases, some in-depth research needs to be done.

tips for small editors:

The advertisements of toothpaste are overwhelming, especially many medicinal creams boast of their therapeutic effects on various oral diseases… Can medicinal toothpaste really cure dental diseases?

Therefore, in the face of a large number of toothpaste varieties, it is first necessary to understand the performance of various toothpastes, not blindly believe the product descriptions, and it is best to consult a professional stomatologist to select the appropriate toothpaste according to the actual situation of your mouth.

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