Stiftung Warentest
9 children’s toothpastes fail with “inadequate”.
© didesign / Adobe Stock
Well-groomed milk teeth are important for the health of your child. Finding the right toothpaste is not that easy, because what should we pay attention to? Stiftung Warentest tested 21 toothpastes for children under 6 years old. She classifies nine of them as unsatisfactory and only two as very good. We’ll show you what they are here.
Milk teeth are softer than adult permanent teeth, making them more susceptible to tooth decay. When it comes to the composition of a toothpaste for children, it is therefore important to use effective and safe ingredients so that no diseases develop on the teeth.
The most important ingredients
Fluoride is an important component of toothpaste for Stiftung Warentest, as only this ingredient reliably protects against tooth decay. The active ingredient should therefore be contained in the tested children’s toothpastes, but not as much as in adult products. Dentists recommend a fluoride content of 1000 parts per million. If there is too much fluoride in the toothpaste, it promotes white enamel stains on the teeth – but too little does not protect against tooth decay.
The check by Stiftung Warentest also shows that many creams contain titanium dioxide. This dye is very controversial and has been banned in food since August because, according to Stiftung Warentest, it can damage genetic material. The dye is superfluous for dental care anyway. In order to avoid possible side effects, the experts therefore recommend avoiding toothpastes with the coloring agent.
The test criteria
Stiftung Warentest tested 21 toothpastes for children up to the age of six. Well-known brands such as Elmex, Odol-med-2, Karex and Weleda are represented, as well as discount products from Lidl, Rossmann, dm and Aldi. The products vary in price between 0.60 cents and 7.90 euros. During the test, the experts paid attention to caries protection, the titanium dioxide content, the packaging, as well as the declaration and advertising claims.
These toothpastes failed
The Logodent natural cosmetics Happy Kids strawberry toothpaste, the Müller SensiDent Kids toothpaste, the dm Alverde natural cosmetics toothpaste, the Karex children’s toothpaste, the Rossmann Alterra natural cosmetics children’s toothpaste, the Lavera natural cosmetics kids toothpaste and the Lidl Dentalux toothgel for kids all failed the test, because they contain too little fluoride. The various products only achieve a grade of 5.0 and are therefore unsatisfactory. The Müller SensiDent Kids toothpaste and Blend-a-med Blendi Gel are not convincing either, as the creams contain titanium dioxide. Although most of the toothpastes rated as poor have good packaging and adhere to the advertising claims, it is crucial that they do not offer any protection against tooth decay according to the standards of the Stiftung Warentest.
The winners among the toothpastes
The winner in the test is the Elmex children’s toothpaste for 1.99 euros. With a grade of 1.1, the product convinces with the right amount of fluoride and the absence of titanium dioxide. The situation is similar with the Signal children’s toothpaste (“My friend Conni”) with a grade of 1.2 for 1.59 euros. Here, too, the amounts of fluoride are appropriate for the Stiftung Warentest and there is no titanium dioxide. In addition, the product descriptions are convincing, as they are very precise and comprehensible on both packaging.
Source used: test.de
This text originally appeared on ELTERN.de.