We’re often asked about what toothpaste we recommend, here at Cleveland Smiles. Our hygienists, Amy and Debbie, are proponents of using baking soda toothpaste and give out Armand Hammer’s baking soda and peroxide samples. Baking soda, a salt, is very effective at killing bacteria.

In fact, most of the research on the use of this combination was done by Dr. Paul Keyes in the 1970s, which led to the development of most of these toothpastes; Dr. Keyes passed away last week, which was a great loss to the dental profession.  In his presentations, he would take a toothpick and gather some saliva and debris from one of the attendees mouth and put it on a microscope slide.

He would then add some baking soda to it, and you could watch the bacteria die; with conventional toothpaste, they would still be moving around. That made a believer out of me!

For our patients with dry mouth and/or lots of previous filings and decay, we ask them to use Prevident 5000, a highly concentrated fluoride toothpaste, in the evening before bedtime, which they brush with and then leave on their teeth overnight. (They can use the baking soda/peroxide combination during the day.)  In this way, they have the best of both worlds.

If you have any questions, please call us at 1-440-461-1003 or use or contact form, and we’ll be glad to help you with any information you might like!