DENTIFRICE

Dr Thulfiqar
Dental Material
Block 4

A semi-aqueous material for removing naturally-occuring

deposits from the teeth
 CONTENT
1) Objective & Deposits on teeth
2) Component of a toothpaste
i. Water
ii. Humectant
iii. Surfactant / detergent
iv. Abrasive
v. Colorant
vi. Binder (thickening agent)
vii. Flavoring
viii. Sweetener
ix. Therapeutic agent
 OBJECTIVE & DEPOSITS ON TEETH
• Objective: To achieve a clean substrate
• Deposits:
1) Plaque – a soft (mainly bacterial film
2) Pellicle – a protein containing film of salivary
origin. May be stained. It is thought that ferric
sulphide is an important component in pellicle
staining. Fe is derived from diet & S is from
denatured protein in pellicle
3) Calculus – a deposit involving both inorganic
& organic component. (Inorganic: Calcium
phosthate; Organic: protein & lipid)
• Plaque can be removed via the use of toothbrush
/ water & flossing.
• Pellicle need use of soap, detergent together with
an appropriate abrasive
• Calculus cannot be effectively removed by
brushing
• Modern dentifrice, presented as paste, contain a
number of components, which may include
i. Anticariogenic (fluoride),
ii. Antidentine hypersensitivity
iii. Antibacterial agent
 1) HUMECTANT
• Composition: Short chain polyalcohol
• Function:
1) To prevent dessication of materials
2) Preventing microbial contamination
3) Glycerol – giving a warming sensation
4) Sorbitol – giving a cooling sensation
 2) SURFACTANT / DETERGENT
• Composition: Sodium stearate, sodium lauryl sulphate
• Properties: hydrophilic & lypophilic (fatty deposits can
be solubilize) – can be used in hard water
• Function:
1) To prevent dessication of materials
2) Preventing microbial contamination
3) Glycerol – giving a warming sensation
4) Sorbitol – giving a cooling sensation
5) Help in dispersing the flavor
6) Lower the surface tension of solution – so that
material can contact the teeth easily
 3) ABRASIVE
• Composition: calcium carbonate, aluminium hydroxide,
calcium phosphate & amorphous silicon dioxide
• Properties: hydrophilic & lypophilic (fatty deposits can
be solubilize) – can be used in hard water
• Degree of abrasiveness is depend on:
1) Hardness of abrasive
2) Morphology of particles
3) Concentration of abrasive in paste
• Function:
1) Effective removal of pellicle, plaque & polishes
tooth surface
 4) COLORANT
• Composition: titanium dioxide (white titanium)
• Properties: opaque / transparent

5) BINDER / THICKENING AGENT

• Composition: Sodium CMC (carboxyl-methyl-cellulose),
hydroxyl-methyl- cellulose
• Long chain molecules
• Function:
1) Prevent the solids separating in the preparation
2) Hinder the gravity induced movement of solids
towards the bottom of container
 6) SWEETENER
• Composition: sodium saccharinate (artificial)

7) FLAVOUR
• Composition: Water insoluble essential oils (oil of
spearmint, peppermint etc)
• Represent 60% of main cost
• They are solubilized and dispersed though the paste via
detergent
 8) THERAPEUTIC AGENT

Fluoride
• Example: Sodium fluoride, stannous fluoride, sodium
monofluorophosphate
• Incorporation of F- into surface enamel appears to be
associated with a reduced incidence of dental caries.
Due to reduced acid solubility of fluoroapatite
compared with hyroxyapatite
Anti-Dentin Hypersensitivity Agent
• Example: Strontium, silver, zinc, fluoride, formaldehyde
& eugenol
• Indication: Patient with cervical sensitivity (open tubule
at the exposed dentine surface)

Anti-Bacterial / Anti-Plaque / Tartar control

• For antibacterial/plaque: Citrate trihydrate, hexetidine,
amyloglucosidase, glucose oxidase & potassium
thiocyanate
• For tartar control: Disodium pyrophosphate,
tetrasodium pyrophosphate & tetrapotassium
pyrophosphate