What are the effects of minerals in toothpaste? Which toothpaste keeps

teeth clean the best: Colgate Total or Crest Pro-

health?

By Joey KAnd Kyle C

Rulite, Ilmenite, and Anatase

Rulite, ilmenite and anatase are minerals used to make Titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is a chemical compound found in toothpaste. It gives the toothpaste its white pigment.

Titanium oxide is also used to color paint, paper, and plastic white.

Rulite, ilmenite, and anatase are all found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Calcite and Aluminum Oxide

Calcite and aluminum oxide are two abrasive minerals found in toothpaste that gives it its cleaning power. They are very coarse minerals that give toothpaste a corrosive texture. This texture helps to scrub teeth clean.

Calcite is found in metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. It has many uses such as making paper, paint, plastic. It is found in many items such as shoe cleaners and foods high in calcium.

Aluminum oxide is found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. It has many uses such as filler for plastic and an ingredient in hip replacements.

Mica Mica is a soft mineral in toothpaste used to polish teeth. Mica is mildly abrasive, but not as much as other minerals such as calcite. As a result, the mineral is not an effective cleaning agent. Instead, mica polishes teeth. Mica also gives toothpaste its sparkles because of its sparkly appearance.

Mica is found in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Mica sheets are very durable and are found in many electronics.

Quartz Quartz is a mineral used to make silica sand. Silica sand is also made up of silicon dioxide which is very coarse. This makes it one of the abrasive ingredients in toothpaste. However the sand alone would scratch your teeth, so it is processed into amorphous silica which is much softer. The amorphous silica also acts as a thickener which prevents the solids and liquids from separating.

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in earth’s crust. It is found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.

FluoriteFluoride is made from the

mineral fluorite. It is the most popular active ingredient in toothpaste. Fluoride helps to prevent cavities and it strengthens tooth enamel.

Fluorite is said to be the most colorful mineral in the world, however pure fluorite is colorless. It is found in igneous and sedimentary rocks

Colgate Total vs. Crest Pro-Health

We found an experiment comparing two toothpastes: Colgate Total and Crest Pro-Health. In the survey, the subjects were given one of the two toothpastes at random. They used them twice a day and the researchers documented the plaque growth daily over the coarse of one month.

After three trials, the researches found that the Colgate total was significantly better at reducing plaque growth than Crest Pro-Health.

Analysis

Colgate Total

Uses Sodium Fluoride

Has 0.243% Fluoride

Has Triclosan

Crest Pro-Health

Uses Stannous Fluoride

Has 0.454% Fluoride

Triclosan

We learned that triclosan was an antifungal agent that prevents gingivitis. Researchers found that it had no effect on plaque growth. Because of this, we believe that sodium fluoride is more effective than the stannous fluoride. Since fluoride comes from fluorite, we have concluded that the mineral fluorite is the most effective mineral in toothpaste for preventing plaque.

Works Cited (Websites) " Cochise College Student Papers in Geology." Cochise College P. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/students/toothpaste/project.htm.

"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21269038>.

Lang, Constance. "What Minerals Are in Toothpaste?" EHow. Demand Media, 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. http://www.ehow.com/facts_4923112_what-minerals-toothpaste.html.

"Crest Pro-Health Frequently Asked Questions." Crest Pro Health Frequently Asked Questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://www.crestprohealth.com/pro-health-faq/>.

Works Cited (Images) Quartz Watches. 2009. Photograph. Blavish.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

<http://blavish.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/quartz-watches-150x150.jpg>.

Silicon-Oxide. N.d. Photograph. Tradett.com. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://image.tradett.com/images/products/BA2011123117120517384647ujsats0523/9999-silicon-monoxide-sio-sinter-for-vacuum-coating.jpg>.

Limestone Chalk. 2012. Photograph. Geology.com. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://geology.com/rocks/pictures/limestone-chalk-380.jpg>.

Aluminum Oxide. 2009. Photograph. Commons.wikimedia.org. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Calcite5. N.d. Photograph. Gwydir.demon.co.uk. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/minerals/pix/calcite5.jpg>.

Anatase. 2007. Photograph. Webmineral.com. Http:webmineral.com/specimens/photos/Anatase.jpg. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

After_Ilmentie. 2006. Photograph. Mineral-forum.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <http://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/files/rutile_and_hematite_pseudomorph_after_ilmenite_mc9k7_194.jpg>.

Works Cited (Images) Mica MuscoviteMica02. 2008. Photograph. Rocksforkids.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

http://www.rocksforkids.com/images/mica%20MuscoviteMica02.jpg.

Quartz_with_Rulite. 2011. Photograph. Commons.wikimedia.org. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Quartz_with_Rulite_Macro.JPG>.

Naturale_fluorite. 2010. Photograph. Commons.wikimedia.org. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/9104_-_Milano_-_Museo_storia_naturale_-_Fluorite_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_22-Apr-2007.jpg>.

004-1. 2009. Photograph. Energymuse.wordpress.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. <http://energymuse.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/004-1.jpeg>.

GRF102d. 2013. Photograph. Irocks.com. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. http://www.irocks.com/db_pics/new2010/GRF102d.jpg.

Titanium-Dioxide-Sample. 2011. Photograph. Commons.wikimedia.org//. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Titanium-dioxide-sample.jpg.