Prevident 5000 is a prescription strength toothpaste and it does not whiten your teeth because it does not contain hydrogen peroxide. In fact it has never claimed to do so and proof of it can be found directly on the packaging and label.
According to the manufacturer of Prevident 5000, Colgate states that it is the most advanced formula for unsurpassed remineralization. Basically it is a prescription strength toothpaste that was created to fight cavities.
You can look all you want but you won't find the words whitening anywhere on the packaging. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean that it is a bad product, it's just meant for a different purpose which we will explain.
Table of contents:
Why it doesn't whiten your teeth
Prevident 5000 doesn't whiten your teeth because it doesn't contain any hydrogen peroxide. Peroxide is the only known bleaching agent that can oxidize both types of stains, extrinsic as well as intrinsic ones.
You can check all the other various whitening products but what you'll find is that they'll contain hydrogen peroxide:
Crest 3D whitestrips
Optic white pen
Snow whitening kit
Opalesence Go
The only differences between these products are simply their concentration of peroxide and the method of application. Aside from that they ALL contain peroxide in one form or another because that is simply how teeth whiten. As a matter of fact, all professional teeth whitening products contain peroxide.
It does help prevent your teeth from becoming more yellow
This toothpaste may not be at the level of the best whitening toothpaste such as the Colgate Optic White Pro series but it does help prevent stains from forming. The reason it does that is because it does contain an abrasive in it so that helps it to mechanically remove extrinsic stains.
In fact, that is how most whitening toothpastes work, at least the ones without peroxide in them. The vast majority of non-peroxide whitening toothpastes all utilize abrasives to "whiten" your teeth. Studies have shown that it is the abrasive that is the key functional whitening ingredient in the dentifrice.
The abrasive that is in Prevident 5000 is hydrated silica which is a commonly used abrasive for whitening toothpastes. That means it should be on par with non-hydrogen peroxide based whitening toothpastes. It will at least get rid of extrinsic stains and prevent them from forming on your teeth.
Of course, what we're implying from this is that a whitening toothpaste with peroxide will always be superior to one without it!
Benefits of prevident 5000
Prevident 5000 is a remineralization toothpaste and NOT a whitening toothpaste. That means its purpose is to fight tooth decay and to repair damaged enamel. It was never meant to make your teeth look brighter.
The first thing that you should take note of is its fluoride content because it contains 1.1% sodium fluoride. That is literally more than 4x as much fluoride in your regular toothpaste. Most toothpastes have about 0.24-0.25% sodium fluoride in them so the prevident gives you a huge boost in fluoride.
The higher fluoride content is important because it helps to strengthen and repair your enamel from tooth decay and acid attacks.
How fluoride helps your teeth
An interesting effect of fluoride is that it strengthens your tooth and makes it more resistant to decay. It does this by replacing the hydroxyl group in the hydroxyapatite mineral of your tooth. Once the fluorine replaces the hydroxyl ion, it transforms your tooth mineral from hydroxyapatite to fluorapatite.
Increased resistance to acid dissolution.
Decreases mineral solubility.
Increased stability of mineral structure.
Promotes remineralization to reverse cavities.
In other words, it just makes your teeth a whole lot better than what it was before. It becomes less prone to dissolving when bacteria try to attack it and also from acid erosion if you eat too many acidic foods. Overall it provides a protective benefit for your enamel when you brush with a lot of fluoride.
Does prevident 5000 cause teeth staining?
It won't make your teeth white but at the same time, prevident 5000 won't make your teeth yellow either. There are no staining ingredients in the toothpaste formulation that would make them turn yellow.
Typically the most notorious tooth stainers are coffee, tea, and red wine which are all pigmented. This toothpaste isn't like that so it won't stain your teeth Another important point to take note of is that it contains sodium fluoride and not stannous fluoride. Fluoride typically will not stain your teeth but stannous fluoride can potentially do so.
Studies have shown that usage of stannous fluoride can potentially leave a yellow-goldenish stain on your teeth. This was discovered back in the early 1980s. The FDA also has a similar statement in regards to its staining potential.
Apparently the staining mechanism stems from the stannous portion that the fluoride is bound to. The stannous or Tin, reacts with the sulfur that is produced by bacteria in your mouth to produce the stain. Fortunately for you, prevident 5000 only uses sodium fluoride and not stannous fluoride. That means you rest assured that it won't turn your teeth yellow from using it!
Takeaway
Prevident 5000 may not whiten your teeth like the best whitening toothpastes can since it doesn't contain hydrogen peroxide or other whitening ingredients. However it can still help prevent extrinsic stains from forming since it does contain an abrasive.
Nonetheless, the reason why you should use this product isn't necessarily for its whitening prowess because it was meant to be a remineralizing toothpaste. You were probably prescribed this dentifrice because you were at high risk for tooth decay so you should use it if you were given it.
The advantage of this toothpaste is its high fluoride content and that is how it is able to reverse cavities. That is great in itself but fluoride does not whiten teeth so please don't expect it to!
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