Hello everyone, it’s your boy 
Today I will be taking about the ingredients used in making most of our popular toothpastes. I will try to analyse the ingredients used most often in making the toothpastes and why they are often used, those not often used and why they aren’t always used and will also look into the special ingredients used by different toothpaste making companies that makes them stand out from the rest.
I will begin by asking these few questions. Have you ever wondered why toothpaste make our teeth white after using them? Have you ever wondered why we have so many different toothpaste products, yet they all do the same job? Have you ever wondered why their prices differ and what makes one toothpaste better than the other?
Well as an Electrical Engineer, I have been taught over time to be analytical and I have been able to develop my analytical skill which led to the inquisitiveness that made me pick up different toothpastes from supermarkets around my locality in a bid to analyse them.
I was able to gather seven (7) different toothpaste products which I called my specimens. There are hundreds of toothpaste products out there but with these few specimens, you will be able to understand what happens with others and will be able to relate everything together.
SPECIMEN 1: CREST
Ingredients: Water, Sorbitol, Hydrated Silica, Disodium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Flavour, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Saccharin, Carbomer mica, Titanium dioxide, Blue1
Crest toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
SPECIMEN 2: DABUR HERBAL
Ingredients: Sodium Silicate, Glycerin, Purified Water, Gum Carrageenan, Sodium monofluorophosphate, Tetra Sodium pyrophosphate, Chlorophyllin, Sodium Saccharin and Preservative.
Dabur herbal toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
SPECIMEN 3: MACLEANS
Ingredients: Sodium Fluoride, Aqua(Water), Hydrated Silica, Sorbitol, Glycerin, PEG-6, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Flavour, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Saccharin, Cl 73360, Cl 74160.
Macleans toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
SPECIMEN 4: COLGATE
Ingredients: Sorbitol, Aqua(Water), Hydrated Silica, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Aroma, PEG-12, Sodium monofluorophosphate, Sodium Fluoride, Tetrasodium pyrophosphate, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Saccharin, Xanthan Gum, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Fluoride.
Active Ingredients: Sodium monofluorophosphate, Sodium Fluoride.
Colgate toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
SPECIMEN 5: CLOSEUP (Herbal)
Ingredients: Sorbitol, Aqua(Water), Hydrated Silica, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, PEG-32, Aroma, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Fluoride, Sodium Saccharin, Aleo Barbadensis leaf extract, Limonene, Cl 73360, Cl 74260, Cl77268, Cl 77492, Cl 77891.
Active Ingredients: Sodium Fluoride
CloseUp herbal toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
SPECIMEN 6: ORAL B
Ingredients: Sorbitol, Aqua(Water), Hydrated Silica, Sodium lauryl Sulphate, Aroma, Cellulose Gum, Trisodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Fluoride, Carbomer polyethylene, Limonene, Cl 77891, Cl 42090.
Active Ingredients: Sodium Fluoride.
OralB toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
SPECIMEN 7: PEPSODENT
Ingredients: Sorbitol, Aqua(Water), Hydrated Silica, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, PEG-32, Aroma, Perlite, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Fluoride, Sodium Saccharin, Calcium Gluconate, Glycerin, Limonene, Cl 74160, Cl 74260, Cl 77891.
Active Ingredients: Sodium Fluoride, perlite.
Pepsodent toothpaste
Showing the Ingredients
Below is a table showing the different toothpaste products, similar ingredients used and their active ingredients
| S/N | TOOTHPASTE PRODUCTS | COMMON INGREDIENTS | ACTIVE INGREDIENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crest | Sorbitol, Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water (Aqua), Sodium Saccharin | Not Specified |
| 2 | Dabur Herbal | Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water, Sodium Saccharin | Not Specified |
| 3 | Macleans | Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Fluoride | Not Specified |
| 4 | Colgate | Sorbitol, Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Fluoride | Sodium Fluoride and Sodium monofluorophosphate |
| 5 | CloseUp (Herbal) | Sorbitol, Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Fluoride | Sodium Fluoride |
| 6 | OralB | Sorbitol, Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Fluoride | Sodium Fluoride |
| 7 | Pepsodent | Sorbitol, Hydrated Silica, Cellulose Gum, Water, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Fluoride | Sodium Fluoride and Perlite |
OBSERVATIONS…
Looking closely at the table above, I observed that Four(4) ingredient are consistently used in the manufacture of toothpastes. These ingredients are;
Water(Aqua)
Hydrated Silica
Cellulose Gum
Sodium Saccharin
I also observed that an ingredient is used in the production of Five(5) of the toothpastes above but isn’t used in the manufacture of One(1) (Dabur Herbal)….The ingredient is Sorbitol.
I also observed that an ingredient is used in the production of Six (6) of the toothpastes above but isn’t used in the production of One(1) (Dabur Herbal)…The ingredient is Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.
I also observed that, while Sodium Fluoride is an active ingredient in most of the toothpastes, it isn’t used in the production of some toothpastes, for example Crest, Dabur Herbal and I wonder why.
From the two observations above, it can be seen that Dabur Herbal lacks three (3) major ingredients used in the production of all other toothpastes which are Sorbitol, Sodium Fluoride and Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, is this a good sign?
Well I am no expert so I won’t jump into conclusions here.
Analysis of the 3 major ingredients missing in Dabur Herbal Tooothpaste and their functions in toothpastes…
• Sorbitol: Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol which has a sweet taste. The human body is capable of metabolizing it slowly. It is also called glucitol. Most sorbitol is made from corn syrup by the reduction of glucose which changes the aldehyde group to a hydroxyl group. Sorbitol can also be found in nature and in fruits such as apples, peaches and pears.
Sorbitol is a sugar substitute and is used in making most cough syrups, sugar free chewing gums, ice creams, jam and some sugar free candies. Hence it is used in toothpastes as a sweetner.
• Sodium Fluoride: Sodium Fluorides is a colourless crystalline chemical compound, an inorganic salt of fluoride precisely used as a medication to prevent tooth decay. It binds to calcium ions in the hydroxyapatite on the surface of the tooth enamel thereby preventing the tooth enamel from corrosion by acids. It also inhibits the production of acids by commensal mouth bacteria.
• Sodium Lauryl Sulphate: This is a synthetic organic compound. It is an anion surfactant used in any task requiring the removal of oily stains and residue. In toothpastes, it is added in little quantity to remove the oily stains on the teeth enamel caused by the oily foods we consume.
Analysis of the common ingredients used in the production of toothpastes
• Water (Aqua): Water gives the toothpaste its soft nature.
• Hydrated Silica: This is a form of Silicon Oxide used as an abrasive in toothpastes. You will observe that in most toothpastes, there will be a rough feeling the toothpaste gives in the mouth when brushing the teeth with it. That is the effect of the Hydrated Silica i the toothpaste.
• Cellulose Gum: This is an organic thickener. It gives the toothpaste its jelly and thick nature.
• Sodium Saccharin: This is an artificial sweetener and it is sweeter than sucrose but has a bitter after taste. The use of Sodium Saccharin in the production of toothpastes give it its bitter after taste.
CONCLUSION
From all the analysis and explanations above, we can see that all toothpastes contain the four ingredients listed above but might lack some important ingredients which doesn’t mean the toothpaste is bad for use.
But from my research, the most active ingredient in any toothpaste Sodium Fluoride which prevents tooth decay and if you want to purchase any toothpaste, do well to check if it contains these basic ingredients and if it does not, PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE.
Till we meet again, I remain your humble tutour …. Have a good night rest.
This piece was inspired by my steemstem mentor 
…A big shout-out to him
…A big shout-out to him