Relative Abrasive Properties of the More Commonly Used Dentifrice Abrasives

The Abrasion of Cementum and Dentin by Modern Dentifrices

“…The finding that dentin can be abraded by certain modern dentifrice abrasives is in agreement with other workers who have used dentin as a test material (2,3,4,5,6).…”

“…Wright and Fenske (5) concluded that antimony did not give a true measure of dentin abrasion from their comparison of the weight losses of antimony with the distances of wear into dentin, when 10 abrasives were tested on both materials. Furthermore antimony is apparently more resistant to abrasion than dentin, which may account for the low abrasion losses on antimony reported by Ray and Chaden (8), Wright and Fenske (5) and Smith (9) for selected dentifrice abrasives.…”

“…Van der Merwe (7), Ray and Chaden (8), and Smith (9) also found that other test substances with hardnesses similar to dentin were likewise subject to some wear by dentifrice abrasives. Grades of calcium carbonate and of calcium phosphate apparently incapable of damaging enamel have been found more than 10 times as abrasive toward cementum and dentin (5). While Bunting produced a typical wedge-shaped notch, he did not measure the (lepth of abrasion.…”

“…Not only Miller, but more recently Bunting and Rickert (2), Head (3), Carney (4), Wright and Fenske (5), and Kimball (6) all have demonstrated that when human dentin is rubbed with dentifrice abrasives a definite amount of the dentin is worn away. Van der Merwe (7), Ray and Chaden (8), and Smith (9) also found that other test substances with hardnesses similar to dentin were likewise subject to some wear by dentifrice abrasives.…”

Introduction to Teeth

“…He indicated that most dentifrices used had an abrasive effect on teeth and that acidic materials enhanced the process of toothbrushing by extracting the calcium salts from the enamel. After then, human tooth wear and its cause in prehistoric populations was investigated by Siffre in 1914 [66], and more works about the influence of various powders and commercial dentifrices and the hardness and size of particles on tooth wear were carried out by Head [67], Van Der Merve [68], Ray and Chaden [69], Wright and Fenske [70], Smith [71], and Manly [72], through different mechanical abrasion machines.…”