The Truth About Toothpaste
During a lecture given by Dr. Thomas Abrahamsen, a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, at the 2008 Yankee Dental Congress held in Boston, I witnessed the illumination of one of the most serious causes of tooth structure loss: abrasion of toothpaste. This loss of tooth structure has been a puzzle in dentistry since the invention of toothpaste. Awareness of this problem started to first come to life in 1727, continued to grow quietly in 1906, and then in the 1940’s and 1950’s. My staff and I were fortunate to have attended Dr. Abrahamsen’s course entitled “Etiology, Diagnosis, and Cure of the Non-Carious Loss of Tooth Structure”, during which we learned that the harmful effect of toothpaste abrasion has finally been verified in studies undertaken by Dr. Abrahamsen over the last six years (as well as in his thirty-five years of clinical observations).
The evidence presented by Dr. Abrahamsen in his lecture appears to me to be irrefutable and undeniable. It has explained everything that I and my hygienists have observed in my thirty years of practice, but that we were unable to put together. We had all the pieces of the puzzle, but it took Dr. Abrahamsen to put them all together.
Tooth structure loss is due to tooth decay (caries), the grinding of teeth, various forms of erosion, and miscellaneous oral habits. However, as my staff and I learned at this course, for many people, significant tooth loss is also very often due to toothpaste abrasion. Where there is evidence of loss of tooth structure, I recommend that you brush only with water and use an electric toothbrush. Enclosed is a summary of all the most common causes of the worn dentition for your personal study and contemplation.
I will be happy to discuss this with you further at your next office visit. God Bless you and Dr. Thomas Abrahamsen.
Valdemar Welz D.M.D.