Should you use a “complete care” toothpaste?

With so many options available, trying to figure out which kind of toothpaste makes the best choice for you and your family can feel like an overwhelming task.

However, with a little knowledge about their ingredients and proven benefits, you’ll quickly discover that multi-care toothpaste, like Crest Pro-Health or Colgate Total, often stands out as the best choice and excels in meeting the needs of most individuals and families.

What essential features would an ideal toothpaste have?

A perfect toothpaste would:

• Effectively clean teeth and remove stains without relying on harsh abrasives.
• Protect against tooth decay by incorporating fluoride.
• Contains compounds that inhibit the buildup of plaque and tartar.
• Promote gum health by including antibacterial ingredients.
• Help to prevent dental erosion (loss of hard tooth structure).
• Provide relief for sensitive teeth if needed.

Those are the kind of benefits that multi-care toothpastes offer.

While the list above may seem like a tall order, and possibly composed of more individual benefits than you think you personally need, a good complete-care toothpaste can usually provide most, if not all, of them.

We’ll also mention that the best multifunction products often rival single-purpose “specialty” toothpastes. And you don’t just have to take our word for it, our next section explains how the best complete-care products have documented research evidence proving their effectiveness in providing benefits like teeth whitening or soothing sensitive teeth.

Crest vs. Colgate: The big two names in complete-care toothpaste.

The two dominant brands in the category of multi-care toothpaste are Colgate Total and Crest Pro-Health. This is based on both market share and, more importantly to us, the amount of research evidence supporting their effectiveness.

These two also fit the bill as true multi-care products, providing benefits on a number of fronts.

What evidence is there regarding the effectiveness of these toothpastes?

The simplest way to highlight the superiority of these products is to note that they are the only ones to earn the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Seal of Acceptance across multiple toothpaste categories. These categories include:

The ADA Seal of Acceptance.

Look for this logo on the toothpaste you buy.

• Adequate fluoride content.
• Dental plaque control.
• Gingivitis prevention.
• Enamel erosion control.
• Oral malodor (bad breath) control.
• Tooth sensitivity control
• Surface stain removal.

How does a product earn the ADA Seal?

To earn the ADA’s acceptance and have permission to display its logo on their product’s labeling (see picture), a manufacturer must submit data from research studies that document its effectiveness for the claims it makes. (Use this link to learn more about what it takes to earn the ADA Seal.)

No other brands or products have come close to receiving ADA acceptance for as many different toothpaste categories. Therefore, we feel confident in stating that either Crest Pro-Health or Colgate Total make the best choice in complete-care dentifrices.

If you like checking things out for yourself, use this link to search the ADA accepted products database. As you explore, notice how quickly the list of products narrows as you add additional toothpaste criteria such as:

• Enamel erosion control.
• Oral malodor control.
• Plaque/Gingivitis control.
• Sensitivity control.
• Stain removal.

Comparing Colgate Total vs. Crest Pro-Health.

When we published the first version of this page several years ago the ingredients list for both toothpastes was significantly different. Colgate Total’s formulation was focused on the antibacterial agent triclosan, while Crest’s Pro-Health product relied on stannous fluoride.

Colgate Total has dropped triclosan from its formulation.

Currently, Colgate has discontinued formulating their toothpaste with triclosan, likely due to growing safety concerns associated with the ingredient. (Use this link for further information about triclosan safety issues.)

The formulation of Crest Pro-Health and Colgate Total are now fairly similar.

When Colgate removed triclosan from their toothpaste’s formulation, they replaced it with stannous fluoride (To note this change, they now use the nomenclature “Total SF” in their branding.)

• This is the same compound that Crest Pro-Health has always used in its formulation. (Crest has a long history with stannous fluoride, first incorporating it into a toothpaste in the 1950s.)
• Both products include stannous fluoride at a concentration of 0.454%.

That makes choosing between them much easier.

The current similarity between Crest Pro-Health and Colgate Total makes choosing between them much less of an issue, as they are fairly equivalent. After trying a tube of one, if you find something you don’t like about it, like its taste, texture, or packaging, simply switch to the other and give it a try. Either way, you’ll get the protection of a good multi-care toothpaste.

What are the best multi-care toothpastes? – Our selections.

We’ve based our list of the best complete-care toothpastes on just two factors.

• They must have earned the ADA Seal of Acceptance.
• They must have received that acceptance for at least 4 out of the 6 ideal characteristics a toothpaste should have (outlined above).

So, in no particular order, here are the multi-care toothpaste products we believe are the best choices.

Please note: Not all Colgate or Crest toothpaste products qualify as multi-care products. We suggest that you stick to a selection from this list.

▼ Products and their documented benefits. ▼

Product ►   Colgate Total SF  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Removing surface stains.
• Reduce bad breath.

Product ►   Colgate Total Toothpaste – Clean Mint / Deep Clean / Whitening / Advanced Whitening  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Removing of surface stains.
• Reduce bad breath.

Product ►   Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste – Clean Mint, Clean Cinnamon, Night, Whitening  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Preventing enamel erosion.
• Reduce bad breath.

Note: While being true multi-care products, the remainder of the toothpastes on our list have not earned the ADA Seal for the category “helping to reduce bad breath.” (Per the ADA website on the date of the last revision of this page.)

Product ►   Crest Pro-Health Gum and Enamel Repair  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Preventing enamel erosion.

Product ►   Crest Pro-Health Advanced Antibacterial Protection  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Preventing enamel erosion.

Product ►   Crest Pro-Health Gum and Sensitivity  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Preventing enamel erosion.

Product ►   Crest Pro-Health Gum Detoxify  

Areas of proven effectiveness.

• Preventing tooth decay.
• Preventing and reducing gingivitis and plaque above the gumline.
• Reducing tooth sensitivity.
• Preventing enamel erosion.

Understanding how the ingredients in a multi-care toothpaste work.

In general, here’s how the compounds found in the formulations of Crest Pro-Health and Colgate Total work.

Sampled products:

• List of ingredients in Colgate Total SF.
• List of ingredients in Crest Pro-Health.

Stannous fluoride (tin difluoride, SnF2)

• This ingredient is an antibacterial compound and helps to give its toothpaste anti-plaque, anti-gingivitis, and anti-bad breath properties by way of helping to control levels of oral bacteria.

  FYI: This link explains the way fluoride creates its anti-cavity effect. It is an interesting phenomenon.

• With continued use, fluoride forms a protective coating on root surfaces that helping to control tooth sensitivity.
  With continued use, fluoride builds up as a coating on root surfaces that helps to control tooth sensitivity.

Sodium hexametaphosphate and tetrasodium pyrophosphate

• These ingredients help to inhibit tartar and surface stain accumulation. As such, they also help keep teeth white.

Hydrated silica

• This ingredient is an abrasive. The scrubbing action of these minute particles aids in tooth cleansing and whitening (surface stain removal).

FAQs about multi-care toothpaste.

More about the ADA Seal of Acceptance program.

Background about toothpaste regulations.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration sets standards for dentifrices but does not verify compliance by manufacturers. This lack of oversight creates some uncertainty when choosing a toothpaste.

The ADA Seal of Acceptance – What it helps to guarantee.

To address this lack of oversight and enforcement, the American Dental Association developed its “Seal of Acceptance” program.

What does it take to earn the ADA Seal?

The seal is granted to individual products based on research data submitted by their manufacturers that demonstrates that the products are effective for the claims made on their packaging.

Consumers should look for this logo.

The ADA Seal of Acceptance.

• For toothpaste products, the benchmarks for earning the seal include: Appropriate fluoride content, plaque control, gingivitis prevention, malodor (bad breath) control, enamel erosion control, tooth sensitivity control, and stain removal.

  Of course, with a multi-care toothpaste, you’re looking for a product that has qualified for multiple categories.

• It’s important to mention that ALL ADA-accepted dentifrices contain effective levels of fluoride.

  (We firmly believe that fluoride is safe and effective for preventing tooth decay and therefore should be included in any toothpaste chosen.)

What about products that don’t have the Seal?

Not having the ADA’s Seal doesn’t necessarily mean that a product isn’t a good one.

Generic products. – Manufacturers of generic equivalents may choose not to incur the expense of performing the necessary testing to meet the ADA’s program requirements. However, this leaves one wondering how equivalent the product truly is.

Other toothpastes. – For dentifrices with aggressive advertising claims, the absence of the ADA Seal can be a significant red flag. Such products often contain proprietary ingredients that are purported to make them “extra” effective. However, if these claims are supported by firm scientific evidence, why hasn’t that evidence been used to earn the ADA Seal?

Safety concerns about triclosan in toothpaste: What you should know.

As mentioned above, the previous formulation of Colgate’s multi-care toothpaste Colgate Total included the antibacterial agent triclosan but that is no longer the case.

One can only speculate why triclosan was removed and replaced by stannous fluoride but there have been concerns, for years, about safety issues surrounding its use. The following links contain background information.

• An overview of possible health concerns. (Wikipedia.org)
• The US FDA statement about triclosan.
• Information from Colgate about its use in toothpaste.

What’s next?

If you’re looking for more information about toothpaste, we suggest reading our page What kind of fluoride toothpaste should you use? Jump

Or, if you’re looking for other topics about maintaining your oral health, scroll on down a few lines to see our ‘What’s Next?’ menu. Thanks for visiting.