ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ, ARM & HAMMERŽ PeroxiCareŽ and
ARM & HAMMERŽ Advance WhiteŽ toothpastes use baking soda as a primary cleaning agent. In fact, ARM & HAMMERŽ has more products that use baking soda as the sole cleaning agent than any other brand. Other baking soda dentifrice products use relatively low levels of Baking Soda (5%-25%) and consequently need to employ an abrasive agent, such as silica, to actually clean the teeth.

As a cleaning agent, baking soda is less abrasive than virtually any other cleaning agent used in toothpastes. Less abrasion means less tooth wear, which helps keep your teeth healthier, longer. And when it comes to cleaning, recent studies indicate that baking soda in high concentrations, like those found in most ARM & HAMMERŽ toothpastes, break down into tiny particles that are able to penetrate enamel crevices and remove food particles and deep stain embedded there. Other cleaning agents, like silica, don’t readily break down into such tiny particles, so they are too big to clean inside the enamel crevices.

Besides cleaning, what else does the Baking Soda in my Toothpaste do?

In addition to cleaning well and delivering fluoride, baking soda toothpaste provides many additional functional benefits that separate it from other toothpastes:

• Baking Soda is gentle—it has significantly lower enamel and dentin abrasivity than the cleaning agents (i.e. silica) used in conventional toothpastes.
• Baking Soda freshens—it imparts a distinct freshness and clean-mouth feel (which has proven itself to help promote compliance with a sound oral hygiene regimen, i.e., brushing after meals).
• Baking Soda deodorizes—it provides superiority compared to conventional toothpastes in deodorancy control due to its unique ability to reduce acids in the mouth.

All in all the baking soda used in ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ,
ARM & HAMMERŽ PeroxiCareŽ and ARM & HAMMERŽ Advance WhiteŽ toothpastes helps make these products highly effective. An effective dentifrice is one that cleans teeth and gums by removing food particles and bacterial plaque and deodorizes the mouth.

Do ARM & HAMMERŽ Brand Toothpastes contain fluoride?

Yes, all of our products are formulated with levels of fluoride specified for an anti-caries (anti-cavity) toothpaste by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Are ARM & HAMMERŽ Brand Toothpastes safe for everyday use?

Yes. They were developed for a daily oral hygiene program. In evaluating these products, ARM & HAMMERŽ conducted tests not only under expected use conditions but also under exaggerated use conditions. For example, in some studies we had the subjects brush every hour up to 5 times during one study day. After brushing they were examined by trained dental professionals.

What does ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ do to promote healthy teeth and gums? What proof does ARM & HAMMERŽ Brand have?

The most important functions of a toothpaste is to protect the teeth from cavities and to effectively clean unsightly plaque and debris from the teeth. The effective delivery of fluoride from a dentifrice plays a large role in protecting the teeth from cavities. An effective cleaning agent, like baking soda, is paramount to clean away plaque and debris and brushing with ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ, the baking soda toothpaste helps keep gums healthy. Published information in the Journal of Dental Research (JDR Vol. 75, Spec. Iss., 1996) confirms that persons using a dentifrice without an effective cleaning agent would accumulate significant stain and debris in as little as five weeks of use. In that same journal, an abstract of research on both ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ and ARM & HAMMERŽ PeroxiCareŽ was presented on our behalf by Dr. S. Ciancio and Dr. J. Zambon. This six-month study shows that long-term use of these two products provides effective cleaning with no adverse effects or harmful changes in the oral microflora.

How abrasive are ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ, PeroxiCareŽ and Arm & HAMMERŽ Advance WhiteŽ products?

ARM & HAMMERŽ products are low in abrasion. That’s because they use ARM & HAMMERŽ Baking Soda as a primary cleaning agent. It is an old-fashioned misconception that Baking Soda is abrasive. In fact, baking soda is very low in abrasion.

The abrasive properties of a dentifrice are measured in a standard test called the Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA) Test, which is conducted by accredited facilities. The abrasivity of the dentifrices are recorded as RDA values and used by all toothpaste manufacturers. The higher the RDA value the more abrasive the dentifrice. In this test, baking soda alone scores a 7, and the ARM & HAMMERŽ products ranging from 10-117, all within accepted levels of abrasivity and typically below most other toothpastes.

ARM & HAMMERŽ Brand Toothpastes sometimes feels gritty. Will they hurt my teeth?

The grittiness is most likely the feel of the baking soda before it dissolves in your mouth. Rest assured that ARM & HAMMERŽ products are low in abrasion and will not harm your teeth.

How can I fight gum disease?

Regular brushing with a well-formulated toothpaste like ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ, ARM & HAMMERŽ PeroxiCareŽ and ARM & HAMMERŽ Advance WhiteŽ, flossing and regular visits to your dentist are recommended ways to attend to your oral care needs. Gum disease can occur when there is a lack of attention to oral hygiene.

Are ARM & HAMMERŽ Brand Toothpastes safe for crowns?

Crowns and other restorative materials are designed to be as hard and resistant as natural teeth. We have seen no evidence of changes in the surface or color of restorative materials with use of ARM & HAMMERŽ toothpastes. There are many different types of restoratives now available, however, so we suggest that you speak to your dentist prior to use of any oral care product on crowns and other restorative material.

Are ARM & HAMMERŽ Brand Toothpastes safe for use on braces, dental appliances, dentures or bridges?

ARM & HAMMERŽ toothpastes are safe for use by persons wearing dental appliances/dentures/braces/bridges. As with any dental appliances special care must be taken to insure thorough cleaning of the appliance and removal of unwanted food and debris. We suggest that you speak to your dentist prior to use of any oral care product on dental appliances/dentures/braces/bridges.

Do ARM & HAMMER Dental CareŽ, PeroxiCareŽ and ARM & HAMMERŽ Advance WhiteŽ contain saccharin?

Yes, our products do contain sodium saccharin that the Internal Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded, based on an exhaustive review, cannot be classified as carcinogenic in humans. Our own safety assessment with respect to its use in our products shows that it presents no significant risk over a long term (lifetime) of use.