You might have seen more and more charcoal toothbrushes at the store or pharmacy lately. Though they might seem like just a fashionable prop to add to the bathroom counter, many companies and manufacturers often market them as a new and improved way to clean and whiten your teeth. But is it really safe to trade in your safe white-bristled toothbrush for one that uses activated charcoal?
What Is A Charcoal Toothbrush Anyway?
Unlike regular toothbrushes, charcoal toothbrushes don’t just use nylon bristles. Instead, they infuse their bristles with activated charcoal—a special substance that can supposedly absorb toxins, bacteria, and all those other nasty body invaders we encounter every day. As a result, the bristles on these special toothbrushes develop a distinct deep black color and immediately stand out from normal white-bristled toothbrushes.
What makes these charcoal-infused bristles unique is not only their unique color, but also the way they clean teeth. A regular toothbrush kind of works like a broom for your teeth—it sweeps and scrubs dirt and bacteria away. Charcoal toothbrushes on the other hand work more like a mop—rather than simply sweeping dirt off the teeth, they instead remove dirt and bacteria through absorption. Thus, charcoal toothbrushes are said to better remove and eliminate harmful substances from your teeth since they don’t leave anything behind.
Are They Safe?
The good news? Charcoal toothbrushes don’t pose any serious threat to your overall oral and physical health. The bad news? Well…they don’t provide any improvements, either. They’re really more of a placebo than an effective tool that can make life easier. So while you can use charcoal toothbrushes without worrying about poisonous chemicals or toxins entering your body, your efforts won’t reap any new benefits in the long run.
Another important thing to remember about charcoal toothbrushes is that there aren’t enough studies out there that can really observe their supposed benefits and effects on the human body. Sure, most commercially sold charcoal toothbrushes might not seem dangerous or risky right now, but it’s still better to stick to toothbrushes that have been proven safe and risk-free for years instead of using products that are untested.
Can They Really Clean Teeth?
The biggest selling point for charcoal toothbrushes has always been their ability to “detoxify” teeth and better eliminate harmful bacteria. Many have said that since they can bind to dirt on the surfaces of teeth and completely absorb them, they can even act as effective teeth whiteners. Those all sound like great reasons to go out and buy your very own charcoal toothbrush right now, but there are a few drawbacks that not many might know about.
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that activated charcoal isn’t an improved or special invention. It’s just something that people used to clean their teeth before toothpaste, mouthwash, and other modern oral health products became accessible. People didn’t use activated charcoal because they saw something special or unique in it—they just used it because there was really nothing else available at the time. If activated charcoal really was the end-all-be-all solution many think it is, then it wouldn’t have gone to the wayside in favor of commercially available toothpaste.
So what about those supposed teeth whitening properties you keep hearing about? Well, a toothbrush doesn’t really have enough power to whiten and brighten teeth on its own. A lot of people like to talk about how charcoal toothbrushes whiten teeth by eliminating dirt and bacteria, but that’s really no different from the way a normal toothbrush works. Any toothbrush can scrub off plaque and tartar so long as it’s used with a healthy and effective toothpaste.
You might also want to think twice about a charcoal toothbrush’s supposed bacteria-absorption properties. Regular toothbrushes are made with nylon bristles that are less likely to absorb harmful airborne bacteria and substances. So long as you rinse the bristles and keep the toothbrush in a safe place, you won’t have any problem using it over and over again. On the other hand, dirt and bacteria are more likely to stick to the bristles of charcoal toothbrushes and really stay there. If you can’t afford to store your charcoal toothbrush in a medicine cabinet, you might just end up turning it into something even dirtier and more bacteria-ridden than a regular toothbrush.
Should I Still Get One Anyway?
All in all, a charcoal toothbrush doesn’t pose any additional danger or risk to your health. Still, it’s no more effective than just using a clean regular nylon-bristled toothbrush. You can still try one out and observe the effects for yourself if you’re really that curious, but just remember that there aren’t that many tests really proving whether or not these products can better clean and whiten teeth all on their own.
A Dental Product You Can Trust
Toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste all play an important role in maintaining proper oral health. We’ve always trusted them to keep our teeth and gums healthy and clean for years, and they, in turn, have never failed to do the job right. Still, there are times when they alone might not always be enough to effectively remove dirt and bacteria from between and behind teeth. That’s where a dental scaler comes in.
Using an ultrasonic dental scaler after brushing can really do wonders for your teeth. It can eliminate dirt and bacteria left behind on the surface of teeth, and it can even remove nasty organisms that might be sticking to the gumline. Dental scalers don’t use any substances or chemicals that could prove to be harmful to the teeth nor do they undermine the effectiveness of other important oral hygiene products. Why not get your today with just one click?