Toothpastes – ingredient lists and INCI analysis

Toothpaste is used with a toothbrush to clean the surfaces of the teeth and is rinsed or spat out afterwards, usually twice a day. Formulas differ in texture, abrasive system and fluoride source, and children's versions are labelled for specific age groups with dosing instructions. Gels, pastes and powder-like formats all belong here, as do products sold for sensitive teeth or for braces, whose labels simply describe their intended use.

Most pastes are built from a few groups of ingredients. Abrasives such as HYDRATED SILICA or CALCIUM CARBONATE do the mechanical cleaning; humectants like SORBITOL and GLYCERIN keep the paste from drying out; thickeners such as CELLULOSE GUM or XANTHAN GUM give body; and SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE or COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE create foam. Fluoride is supplied as SODIUM FLUORIDE, SODIUM MONOFLUOROPHOSPHATE, STANNOUS FLUORIDE or OLAFLUR, and TETRASODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE is often added as well.

In the EU, fluoride compounds in oral products are listed in Annex III, which caps total fluorine at 0.15% and requires toothpastes containing between 0.1% and 0.15% fluorine to carry a warning about use by children aged six and under, unless labelled for adults only. Flavour is declared as AROMA, sweeteners such as SODIUM SACCHARIN are named separately, and colourants appear as CI numbers.