Resources

The Library

Most of what gets written about oral care is either marketing or advocacy. These articles are neither. Each one explains a mechanism or reviews a body of evidence, cites its sources, and says plainly where the research is weak. Where we publish our own laboratory results, we publish the certificate itself rather than a summary of it.

Every article is written by Conan Brkanac, BS Biophysics, University of Washington, and clinically reviewed by Jade K. Kim, DDS before it is published.

• Fundamentals How cavities form A cavity is not an infection you catch. It is mineral loss that outpaced mineral repair, decided many times a day by acid, saliva and how often you eat. Read
• Fundamentals Saliva and oral health Saliva is supersaturated with the minerals teeth are made of, which is why enamel repairs itself between meals. How that works, and what happens when flow fails. Read
• Ingredients How fluoride works The mechanism, written straight by a company that does not use it. Topical rather than systemic action, the reservoir effect, and what the Cochrane reviews found. Read
• Evidence review Nano-hydroxyapatite: reading the trials The most studied fluoride alternative, assessed on its evidence. What the meta-analyses found, what non-inferiority does not prove, and who funded the research. Read
• Ingredients Xylitol and oral health A noncariogenic sweetener that does not feed plaque acid production and is associated with lower levels of cavity-linked bacteria and plaque. Read
• Evidence review Xylitol and cardiovascular risk Headlines link a sweetener to heart attacks. The studies measured blood xylitol rather than intake, and the body makes 5 to 15 grams of it a day. Read
• Ingredients Sodium bicarbonate in oral care It buffers plaque acid, helps disrupt oral biofilm, has context-dependent antimicrobial effects, and lifts stain at unusually low abrasivity. Read
• Fundamentals How teeth whitening works Enamel is nearly transparent, so the color you see is mostly the dentin beneath it. What genuinely lightens a tooth, what only lifts surface stain, and which claims the evidence will not carry. Read
• Marketing claims Toothpaste abrasivity Whitening often means polishing away surface stain. Some formulas remove more tooth structure in laboratory tests. Why neither the label nor RDA alone can tell the whole story. Read
• Ingredients Surfactants and the oral mucosa Foam is made by molecules whose job is disrupting oil and water interfaces. Cell membranes are one. What that means, and why the mouth is not skin. Read
• Marketing claims “SLS-free” is not the same as gentle Removing SLS from a foaming toothpaste means adding another surfactant. Why skin mildness data does not transfer, and why origin says nothing about behavior. Read
• Ingredients Preservatives and the oral mucosa Why water-based products need preservatives, what the tolerance evidence actually shows, and how removing the water changes the question. Read
• Transparency Heavy metals testing Independent testing in 2025 found lead in roughly 90 percent of toothpastes sampled. Here is our full elemental panel for lot 001. Read
• Evidence review Fluoride in drinking water What the IQ research found and at what concentration, how US tap water compares, what fluorosis does to enamel, and how to look up your own supply. Read
• Marketing claims How much toothpaste to use A pea is 0.25 grams. In one survey, 96.8 percent of toothpaste advertisements showed four times that. The arithmetic, and who it actually matters for. Read
• Fundamentals Habits that protect teeth Rinse after eating, stop grazing, protect the night brush. The habits with real evidence behind them, and which ones rest on thinner ground. Read
• Evidence review Fluoridated water versus toothpaste Swallowed fluoride does reach your teeth, through saliva. Why its measured advantage collapsed after 1975, and what Cochrane found in 2024. Read
• Ingredients Stannous fluoride and gum health It halves bleeding sites in pooled trials, and the tin is doing the work rather than the fluoride. That one fact explains the staining too. Read
• Fundamentals Powered toothbrushes Modestly better than manual, and probably not because of the motor. People think they brush for two minutes. Observed, it is under one. Read
• Buying guide How to choose a natural toothpaste A neutral decision framework for fluoride, abrasivity, foam, preservation, testing and the claims on a natural toothpaste label. Read
• Buying guide How to choose a fluoride-free toothpaste A balanced decision guide that puts the evidence for fluoride beside personal cavity risk, formula quality and preference. Read
• Fundamentals Does toothpaste need to foam? Foam changes the sensory experience, but the volume of lather is not a score for how clean your teeth are. Read
• Ingredients SLS-free vs. surfactant-free toothpaste SLS-free excludes one surfactant. Surfactant-free describes the broader formula. Here is how to tell the difference. Read
• Fundamentals What is oil-based toothpaste? How an oil-based carrier changes texture, ingredient compatibility and preservation without proving a clinical advantage. Read
• Transparency Inside our seven-ingredient formula Every ingredient in Essential Mint, why it is in the formula, what has been tested and what the short list does not prove. Read

These articles are educational. They describe published research and our own laboratory results. They are not medical or dental advice, not a diagnosis, and not a claim about any product. If you have a specific concern about your teeth or gums, ask a dentist.