UPDATE: Dr. Haselhorst’s office is conveniently located at the corner of Aurora Ave. and Main St. in downtown Naperville. During the summer, the yard flourishes with lovely landscape and colorful flowers.
Word of Mouth… One of the most important aspects of developing a healthy lifestyle is knowing what you are eating and using. We sometimes make assumptions about the health and safety of products we use without reading or listening to all of the facts. The marketing hype is hard to resist, but it does pay to know and understand what you are putting in your mouth.
I was amazed one day to find that all of the toothache medications (23 total) at the local drugstore had the exact same medication at almost the same concentration. If you look closer, you find that this medication (benzocaine) has little lasting effect on oral pain and does nothing for a toothache, except the normal placebo effect.
I guess most people do not know this, or there would be only the cheap generic on the shelf. Even though you might not be familiar with what something does, it might pay to find out.
Recently, I came across some information about an antibacterial (triclosan) that is routinely used in toothpaste and may have some bad physiological and environmental side effects that have not been fully disclosed. I have written about this before and discussed it with patients – little good can come from chronic use of antibacterials. That is becoming more understood. Many toothpaste manufacturers have stopped using it, but there are still some out there.
There are other ingredients in typical oral hygiene products that you should also know about, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, citric acid, alcohols, etc. They are in the products because consumers tell the manufacturers they like certain properties in a product. That doesn’t mean it is good for you. Ask your dentist or physician if you are unsure.
