Dear Dr. Ellie:
So I read your blog and I want to know your thoughts on Tom’s of Maine Natural Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash as an after-brushing, before bed wash. It seems that it is reasonably priced and could be preferred over ACT because it has both Fluoride and Xylitol.
I am noticing that it fits most of your recommendations.
- Sodium Fluoride 0.0442%
- Xylitol from Birch
- ADA accepted.
- Alcohol Free
- pH buffered
- Glycerine so that it “sticks” to the teeth
- No other artificial sweeteners.
The one thing that you may not like is that it contains 2 astringents, witch hazel and green tea extract.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks,
JA
Dear JA,
Good question and with all the new visibility of Toms of Maine I think some others may be interested in the reply.
There are a couple of things you should know.
First, Toms of Main was purchased by Colgate. Colgate Total was a toothpaste with a problem. The interaction of triclosan (the active ingredient) with chlorine (in tap water) created chloroform in the mouth not good and a reason many people suffered mouth ulceration. I was impressed by the Company tactic to buy Toms of Maine and promote a “new and healthy” image I wonder if the ingredients of Toms have remained the same as they originally were.You see, I don’t really trust big companies!
Second, from what I remember Toms of Maine mouth rinse tasted terrible! I don’t like the color of ACT or the fact that it contains some unnecessary ingredients but I do love the results. As a clinical dentist I have witnessed these results over and over with thousands and thousands of people for over twenty years. Even if Toms tasted good I could not recommend it because today I have no clinical observation to base my recommendation on. The companies could run a clinical trial testing the products side by side but today clinical trials are too expensive and there would not be enough money in the result today marketing works better with the public!
All I can say is that you can compare and contrast these products for yourself if you really want to. Six months one way and six months using the other products. If you do this and really believe that Toms of Maine gives you a better end result please let me know.
You see, I will not try this because I love my teeth the way they are. I have “experimented” for thirty five years to find this system and this is why I wish to share my program with others. I do not make ANY money from the sale of ANY of the products.
I would not switch from my program myself because I have achieved the ideal balance in my mouth : perfect teeth, only had one dental cleaning in twenty years and people stop me in the street to ask how I get my teeth to look so good! Why would I be wanting anything different? These same results seen and reported consistently from those who correctly use my system over time.
I hope this answers your question!
Take care,
Ellie Phillips, DDS
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