Glycerin and tooth remineralization

[freyasam]

I've heard for a while that glycerin (very common toothpaste ingredient) prevents tooth remineralization and should be avoided. For example, Dr. Ellie urges people to avoid toothpaste with glycerin.

But it turns out there's not much info on pubmed on this claim, and the claim can be traced back to one dentist, a Dr. Gerald Judd. I found the quoted section below on a natural health blog. Basically this claim is difficult to verify, it appears.

So, do you have any personal experiences to report with glycerin in toothpaste and its effects on enamel, decay, and tooth sensitivity?

When searching how glycerin affects the teeth, there are plenty of sites which include information on how glycerin can block the teeth's ability to remineralize. The belief is glycerin leaves a thin coat on the teeth, keeping the teeth from having the natural ability to remineralize, which happens from the saliva in the mouth. I have read in numerous places that it can take anywhere from 20 - 30 times of brushing without glycerin to remove it from the teeth. It seems that the bases for this information comes from the research of Dr. Gerald Judd.

However, there is also plenty of information that would refute that glycerin can be harmful to the teeth. I have spent several hours trying to find more scientific research on the subject, but to not much avail. Here is one piece of information from PubMed.com: (http://1.usa.gov/fQO94o)

"This study evaluated the effects of 10% carbamide peroxide, carbopol and glycerin and their associations on microhardness over time on enamel and dentin. Eight treatment agents were evaluated: a commercial bleaching agent containing 10% carbamide peroxide (Opalescence 10% Ultradent), 10% carbamide peroxide, carbopol, glycerin, 10% carbamide peroxide + carbopol, 10% carbamide peroxide + glycerin, carbopol + glycerin and 10% carbamide peroxide + carbopol + glycerin. Three hundred and twenty human dental fragments, 80 sound enamel fragments (SE), 80 demineralized enamel fragments (DE), 80 sound dentin fragments (SD) and 80 demineralized dentin (DD) fragments, were exposed to the treatment agents (n=10). These agents were applied onto the surface of the fragments eight hours a day for 42 days. After eight hours, they were washed from the dental fragment surfaces after five back-and-forth movements with a soft bristle toothbrush under distilled and deionized running water. During the remaining time (16 hours per day), the fragments were kept in individual vials in artificial saliva. After the 42-day treatment period, the specimens were kept individually in artificial saliva for 14 days. Knoop microhardness measurements were performed at baseline, after eight hours, and 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days, and 7 and 14 days post-treatment (corresponding to 49 and 56 days after the initial treatment agent applications). The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis analysis showed significant differences among the agents at each time interval, except at baseline for sound and demineralized enamel and dentin. For SE, SD and DD, there was a decrease in microhardness values during treatment with all agents. There was a tendency towards lower microhardness values after treatment with carbopol and its associations for sound tissues. DD showed low microhardness values during and after treatment with CP and its associations. For DE, there was an increase in microhardness values during treatment with all agents and in the post-treatment phase. The baseline microhardness values were not recovered during the 14-day post-treatment phase. Opalescence 10%, carbamide peroxide, carbopol, glycerin and their associations may change the microhardness of sound and demineralized dental tissues, even in the presence of artificial saliva."

Take from this what you can. In the end what I read is that glycerin does affect dental tissue in some way, but sadly they don't expand on this in the abstract.

Source: A closer look at glycerin & whether it's wise to be in toothpaste & a homemade toothpaste recipe

 

[LauriePartridge]

I've heard the same thing.

 

[Peachy]

I think of it as tooth Pledge (the furniture polish). It’s intended as a coating to deflect bacteria. So it would seem it would also prevent minerals in the saliva from interacting with the teeth.

After getting my diet in order for about a year, I started brushing with water and pulling with coconut oil. My extremely sensitive teeth were fine! I used to be dependent on sensodyne. I did have to brush a little more often for my teeth to feel as smooth.

Now I use Wellnesse toothpaste (glycerin free) just in interest of time. But they feel best when I do the oil pulling.