• Theodent 300 claims to be able to strengthen enamel to prevent tooth erosion
  • At £76 a tube, it is the most expensive toothpaste sold anywhere in the world 
  •  Its ‘revolutionary’ formula is made from an extract of the cacao plant
  • However dentists say it does not contain any fluoride which fights tooth decay 

Moisturiser. Cleanser. Anti-ageing serum. These are the bathroom products used by millions of Britons in the hope they will keep us looking younger and fresher.

And now it might be time to add another tool to the beauty box: age-defying toothpaste.

Promising to regenerate your smile, this wave of advanced toothpastes wouldn’t look out of place next to pricey face creams – some are even described as elixirs and contain some of the same anti-ageing miracle ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid, which plumps up and irons out the skin. But they come at a cost.

A Mail on Sunday inspection of high-street pharmacies found some of these beautifying toothpastes cost up to £76 a pop. Even Colgate is charging £20 for its latest whitening product.

But can a tube of toothpaste really turn back the clock for your oral health?

Or is it a case of spitting money down the sink?

We asked some of the top UK dental experts for their verdict…

Theodent 300: £76

The claim:

With a gold-decorated flat tube, this is billed as the most expensive toothpaste in the world.

Its ‘revolutionary’ formula is made from an extract of the cacao plant called theobromine. Theodent says this has been proven to strengthen crystals in tooth enamel and increase their size by 400 per cent, preventing erosion.

Its formula is said to be just as effective for strengthening tooth enamel, and protecting against erosion, as fluoride.

Theodent 300 claims to be able to prevent tooth erosion by protecting enamel. But at £76 a tube, it is the most expensive toothpaste in the world

Theodent 300 claims to be able to prevent tooth erosion by protecting enamel. But at £76 a tube, it is the most expensive toothpaste in the world

Verdict:

Theodent refer to a number of small studies, carried out by scientists at the University of Texas, to back up claims that its compound can strengthen enamel.

But the studies were not performed on people, say experts, but tested on pieces of tooth which had been removed from the mouth.

Robert Hill, professor of dentistry at Queen Mary University of London, says: ‘A test tube is not the same environment as a mouth. There’s no saliva, which contains salts that can affect how minerals are drawn into the tooth. There may also be residual acid or other compounds swilling around that impact the results.’

One key ingredient is also missing: fluoride.

‘Whether you spend £1 or £100, fluoride is the most important ingredient in toothpaste,’ says Professor Damien Walmsley, a dental expert from the British Dental Association.

Taste test:

It doesn’t look like any old cheap toothpaste, with a consistency closer to face cream. But the flavour is nothing spectacular – minty with a light aftertaste of chocolate.

*Original article online at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10580911/Would-pay-76-tube-anti-ageing-toothpaste-contains-no-FLUORIDE.html