Oral health is very important. Your mouth is filled with hundreds of bacteria. Many of them harmless, but harmful bacteria may sometimes grow out of control becoming dangerous for your oral health and even your overall health.

Not only is oral health important, but also everyone prides their self on having healthy, radiant white teeth. For some employers teeth may even influence your career prospects.

If oral health is solely influenced by your toothpaste, mouthwash and whether you floss, then choosing the right products for your mouth is very important.

Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Halle are collaborating with the Microtribology Centre µTC in Karlsruhe to develop new process for testing the abrasive effect of toothpastes.

Many oral products such as toothpaste are created to remove dental plaque, however if it is too coarse for your teeth it can be very dangerous. Over time, abrasion can cause damage to the tooth enamel, which does not regenerate itself. The damage is noticeable and pronounced in the soft dentin region of teeth.

With the use of human teeth and a variety of toothpastes, researchers diluted water and saliva in order to create a solution similar to the mixture of toothpaste and saliva when people brush their teeth. This friction test was carried out with a single bristle.

"Our findings reveal that the RDA value of toothpastes correlates with the depth of abrasion; the higher the value, the greater the abrasion. By analyzing the friction value we also identified a clear relationship between the friction behaviors of the bristle on the dental enamel and the abrasiveness of the toothpaste", said Dr. Andreas Kiesow, team leader at the IWM.

With this new process, researchers were able to characterize abrasion quickly and more simply. This will help dental hygiene product development determine how toothbrush filaments act on the surface of the tooth and how the bristle should be designed.

Overall, the research will help consumers achieve optimal oral health.

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