3 ms·
When I was a young kid we were out of toothpaste and some adult suggested using soap. I remember it wasn't very nice, but that's all. For the sake of science,
by tempguy9999 7y ago
When I was a young kid we were out of toothpaste and some adult suggested using soap. I remember it wasn't very nice, but that's all.
For the sake of science, I just repeated that, so as taught in school, the scientific method.
experiment: brushing teeth with soap instead of toothpaste.
apparatus: toothbrush, soap (sainsbury's cheapo), teeth, darwin-award level of stupidity.
result: surprisingly inoffensive. Almost no taste of soap unless the suds reached the very back of your tongue. Considerably foamier than toothpaste!
conclusion: for this brand of soap at least, an acceptable substitute. Minty soap would be better.
Note that toothpaste actually contains a very fine abrasive which soap lacks. Also laundry soap (came in thick green bars IIRC) was probably far worse.
- lm28469 7y agoAFAIK using soap wouldn't do much to clean your teeth. Toothpaste work because it contains abrasive and to a lesser extent fluoride and other additives. Most of the cleaning comes from the action of the brush on your teeth which physically removes bacterias, leftover food, &c.
- tempguy9999 7y agoI agree and have to wonder whether toothpaste really does anything significant, or perhaps it's just a moneymaking consumable.
- FreeFull 7y agoBrushing with an abrasive does make a significant difference. The fluoride also has a significant effect on reducing tooth decay. The other parts aren't too important (flavour and mouthfeel). You can definitely get away with using other abrasives, but it won't be as pleasant.
- jaclaz 7y agoOld toothpastes (and some of the new ones) used sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in the ingredients, it is slighly abrasive, it is whitening, not at all bad tasting and non-toxic if ingested/swallowed accidentally.