The Abrasiveness of Dentifrices as Measured on the Cervical Areas of Extracted Teeth

Abstract

A series of nine widely used commercially available dentifrices, ten exptl. dentifrices, salt and soda and water were tested for abrasive action on the cervical areas of extracted teeth. The depth of abrasive cut 100,000 cross-strokes ranged from 0.006 mm. to 4.48 mm. With one exception, commercial tooth powders tested were markedly more abrasive than commercial tooth pastes tested. The number of yr. which various dentifrices would require to cut half through a maxillary canine with average strokes per day was computed. One commercial powder could be expected to accomplish this on an exposed root in 7.6 yr. while tap water could be used infinitely without appreciable wear.