Ingredients

Our Toothpaste Ingredients

When developing Buddies toothpaste, we worked hard to make the best product we could, whilst avoiding ‘nasties’ such as SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) and parabens.

Our Ingredients

Sorbitol, Aqua (Water), Hydrated Silica, Glycerin, Sodium Fluoride (1450 ppm), Aroma, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sucralose, Sodium Benzoate, CI 19140, CI 42090 All our toothpaste is made in the UK, suitable for vegans and is cruelty free.

Further detail

Jan-25
Small parcel – Tracked 48
UK
£3.39
Tracked 24
UK
4.25
Tracked small parcel
International
£8.00
Tracked and signed
International
£9.70

Our planet

We want to play a positive role in preserving our planet.

We therefore strive to only buy sustainable ingredients made within the UK or Europe to minimise our carbon footprint.

Our goal is to sell our products in 100% recyclable packaging.

Where this isn’t yet possible, we will share this in a transparent way and provide updates on our progress in product development to reach our goal.
Example: Our toothpaste pump dispensers are not fully recyclable, so we are transitioning to fully recyclable toothpaste tubes.

Help and Advice Children:

How To Encourage Children To Brush Their Teeth

Convincing your children of the importance of good oral hygiene will help lay the foundation for a healthy lifetime habit they will thank you for one day.

Getting a Routine Going
More often than not, a child will do the opposite of what you tell them. Being rebellious can be a natural part of learning to be independent.
However, most children respond well to having a routine that provides structure to their days and makes them feel secure.
Brushing their teeth needs to become one of the morning and nightly tasks along with eating, getting dressed, taking a bath and so on. If you can successfully slot in brushing teeth into this routine, it will soon become part of their daily schedule.
The following tips may help with integration.

Play some Music
Most children love listening to music and dancing. A great way to make anything seem fun is if you attach a theme song to it. This will help them relax while brushing their teeth, something which often feels unnatural or perhaps even scary to a child.
By linking the joy of music and dance with brushing their teeth, it may allow them to associate this process as an enjoyable experience. There are even electric toothbrushes that play music!

Roleplaying
Children love using their imagination in any event. If you make up a little story surrounding brushing their teeth, it will make it seems like an exciting quest that they will be only too happy to engage in.
Perhaps tell them that their teeth are actually magical diamonds that were gifted to us by a magical fairy so that we can eat our food, and it is our job to look after them or she will be very sad.

Buying the Right Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Your child’s aversion to brushing their teeth might be because they hate the taste of their toothpaste, or for some other reason such as the design of their toothbrush does not feel comfortable in their mouths, or they don’t like its colouring.
Encourage them to explain if there’s anything that worries them about brushing, so you can work out ways to address their concerns.
For example, taking them shopping for a new toothbrush, and allow them to handpick whichever one is the most attractive. Or asking them to help you shop online for a new toothpaste most likely to suit your child’s tastebuds.

These tips should definitely help in getting your kid closer towards a lifetime appreciation for oral hygiene and maintenance. The skills that we learn as youngsters stay with us forever. You know your child best, however, so try and edit these tips around their personalities.

Recommended brushing tips for kids

⦁ Avoid any drinks before bedtime, other than water
⦁ Don’t rinse after brushing, just spit out excess toothpaste, as this allows the fluoride to provide the best protection
⦁ Use a soft, rounded toothbrush head, with an easy grip handle
⦁ Use a timer to ensure brushing for the full recommended 2 minutes
⦁ Supervise your children’s brushing until they are seven years old
⦁ Use a toothpaste with the correct levels of fluoride for their age (see below). Although there is a recent trend for many parents to move away from fluoride towards more ‘natural’ products, fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, found to offer the best protection for enamel. See our previous blog for details of research. ⦁ fluoride-in-toothpaste-friend-or-foe
⦁ NHS recommended fluoride levels:
⦁ Under 3 years: a smear of toothpaste with > 1000 ppm fluoride
⦁ 3-6 years: a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with > 1000 ppm fluoride
⦁ Adults: 1350-1500 ppm fluoride

Help and Advice Adults

Older people or those being treated for conditions such as cancer, are more likely to suffer from adverse oral health conditions.

Poor oral health can cause:

⦁ pain and discomfort
⦁ infections in the mouth that can affect general health and vice versa
⦁ serious health conditions, including blood poisoning, chest infections and pneumonia.
⦁ Poor oral health can affect the ability to speak.
⦁ Lack of self-confidence due to halitosis (bad breath) or impact on appearance.

It is worth noting that looking after oral soft tissues is just as important as looking after the teeth.

Tips on choosing the right type of toothbrush

⦁ A small-headed toothbrush is always more effective.
⦁ A soft to medium toothbrush is suitable for most people, but a very soft toothbrush is kinder if the person:
⦁ is frail, or is suffering from dementia and rejects or refuses oral care
⦁ has sensitive areas in their mouth due to gum disease or other infections
⦁ is suffering from a dry mouth.
⦁ has loose teeth.
⦁ has sensitive teeth.

Dementia and oral care.

Why worry?
Poor oral health may lead to infections which, if left untreated, can cause pain.
⦁ Someone in pain can have difficulty chewing, and this often leads to poor nutrition.
⦁ Bacteria can enter the bloodstream, causing blood poisoning and may also be related to other diseases such as heart, disease and diabetes.
⦁ Bacteria can also cause respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia.
⦁ Treatment may be necessary and general anaesthetic, which may pose a risk to life.

Tips for providing oral care for someone with Dementia

⦁ Do everything you can to make mouth care a pleasant experience, e.g. provide a softer toothbrush, or a more pleasant-tasting toothpaste or gel.
⦁ As any change in their normal response to oral care may be due to discomfort or pain, this should never be ignored and should be investigated by a nurse or a dental professional.
⦁ There may be less resistance when carers encourage them to carry out their own oral care.
⦁ People with dementia often have behavioural patterns so consider asking family members or previous carers for advice or assistance.
⦁ It may be helpful to have more than one carer helping, but the person may also respond better to one well-known, trusted carer
⦁ Carry out the task wherever the recipient is most comfortable.
⦁ Don’t approach the recipient from behind; come down to eye level.
⦁ In a residential care environment, it is important to label all oral care products, including dentures and brushes, in case they go missing or end up in another room.
⦁ Some people, especially those with dementia may be unable to spit, and should use a non-foaming toothpaste (one without sodium lauryl sulphate or SLS).
⦁ Distract the care recipient by giving them something to hold like another toothbrush

Oral Health Q&A

⦁ Our mouths contribute to the quality of our lives by affecting how we look, speak and enjoy food.
⦁ Difficulties with eating can impact on every aspect of health.
⦁ To prevent infection and pain.
⦁ To ensure people are comfortable.

People sometimes refuse, or are reluctant to accept it. Perhaps it has become a very negative part of their personal care because it’s become painful for them.
It’s worth noting that people with dementia often don’t remember specific care but they do remember how it makes them feel.

⦁ Sugar and bacteria. Sugar reacts with the bacteria to form an acid that makes holes in our teeth.
⦁ As we age, instead of having tight gums and short teeth, recession causes the roots of the teeth to be exposed. These exposed roots have no enamel on them just dentine, so they are much more prone to tooth decay.
⦁ Teeth may be very sensitive due to tooth decay and broken teeth, which can cause discomfort when brushing.

Tips:
⦁ Think about how you brush your teeth and ask the recipient if they rinse with water after brushing.
⦁ It is very important not to rinse with water as toothpaste contains chloride and it can also contain antibacterial ingredients.
⦁ The surface of the enamel is made up of minute crystals, and when we have sugar, we lose some of these crystals from the surface of our teeth. Given the chance, these crystals will go back into our teeth, and if they have encounter fluoride, they are better quality and stronger than they were before.
⦁ It is much better to use mouthwash at a different time of day from when we brush our teeth as toothpaste always contains a greater concentration of fluoride than mouthwash.
⦁ If the care recipient becomes upset if you discourage them from rinsing after brushing, it’s not appropriate to put any pressure on them. But if there is the opportunity to leave toothpaste on the teeth, it is much better to do so.

⦁ Bacteria destroys the bone and the ligaments that hold our teeth in position.
⦁ People with gum disease will nearly always have sore gums that bleed went brushed.

⦁ Dehydration medication (over 500 medications cause a dry mouth), including 80 antipsychotic medications for dementia, morphine and even oxygen
⦁ Medical conditions including Parkinsons, diabetes, problems with the saliva glands, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and many others.
⦁ Breathing through the mouth instead of the nose.

Note: People with a dry mouth may have thick, stringy saliva, cracked lips and a sore mouth. This will mean they are much more prone to fungal infections.such as thrush.

⦁ Frequent sips of water, using swab sticks, dry mouth gel, spray or mouth rinse.
⦁ Use a non-foaming toothpaste, one without sodium lauryl sulphate which can exacerbate the problem.
⦁ As their mouth may well be painful, using a very soft toothbrush can be the best approach and is just as effective at cleaning.
⦁ People with dementia often lose their sense of taste, so they tend to like different flavours that what they previously liked. A toothpaste like Buddies toothpaste flavours have been especially developed to cater for this. It’s also a gel designed to sink into the bristles, thus staying on the brush.

The bacteria food debris in the mouth is inhaled into the lungs, and this is the perfect breeding ground for these bacteria to grow and thrive, especially in a person who is frail. There is evidence that oral hygiene interventions reduce the risk of pneumonia by 67%. In frail older people, this is called aspiration pneumonia

Coughing, choking, reluctance to eat certain foods and taking a long time to eat.

People with swallowing problems are more likely to develop aspiration pneumonia due to more food, debris and bacteria in their mouths. So oral healthcare needs to be provided more frequently, especially after every meal and last thing at night.

⦁ Lumps ulcers, sore mouth, dry mouth, bad breath, bleeding, rashes, white patches, loose or lost teeth, and broken teeth.
⦁ A new reluctance to wear their dentures which may indicate soreness.

⦁ Make sure they are seen by a dentist or doctor within an appropriate timeframe.

Oral cancer can occur anywhere in the mouth, head or neck.
The most common indications are lumps, long-lasting mouth ulcers, white or red patches in the mouth and persistent pain.

All these conditions should be improving within three weeks. If not, mouth cancer ought to be considered as a potential cause.
Risk factors include smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. If both risk factors exist, the risk increases by 30-fold. It’s more common in men, with 66% of cases being male.

⦁ Difficulty eating or drinking, which could be due to the mouth.
⦁ Bleeding from an area where there has been recent dental treatment.
⦁ Swelling
⦁ Pain that cannot be controlled when with the resident standard analgesic drug.

⦁ Minimum twice a day: before bed, and at one other time
⦁ We need to ensure we are not causing any discomfort and be very gentle. If it hurts we are reinforcing a fear that having their mouth cleaned is going to be painful.
⦁ If, despite our best efforts to be gentle, they find it too painful, we need to arrange for a dentist to see them as they could have an infection.

⦁ An oral care educator who worked for the NHS used the following approach with very successful results:

“When providing oral health care for a anyone who often refuses it, I go armed with a new ultra-soft brush. Then I tell them that I am giving out free toothbrushes and ask whether I can see the one they use now.
I demonstrate the difference between their usual brush and the very soft one, usually on the back of their hands.
The next step is to ask them to smell the Buddies toothpaste I have with me and whether they’d like to taste it. If they do, they usually love the taste of it and then they allow me to brush their teeth using that and the soft brush.
I find I can often clean their mouth then rinse and dry the brush several times, continuing like this until the mouth is clean.”

⦁ Morphine and oxygen both cause dry mouth.
⦁ If someone has previously had a sore mouth, the issues will worsen during this time.
⦁ Care needs to be provided every 30 minutes if the resident is conscious and every hour if they are unconscious.
⦁ It is the very last personal care that can be provided.

If you are going to apply any oral swabs or dry mouth gel or spray, our recommendation is that you taste them yourself first, as some of them leave quite an unpleasant aftertaste.

Favoured toothpaste specifically developed to suit sensitive tastebuds; high, fluoride toothpaste (prescription only), unflavoured toothpaste, and non-foaming toothpaste, which means without sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS)

⦁ It may be useful to use two toothbrushes for residents who bite on their brush, so you can let them bite on one brush whilst using another small headed one to clean their teeth.
⦁ Double sided toothbrushes
⦁ Very small headed very soft bristles.
⦁ Easy grip handles

⦁ Remove dentures and clean with a denture brush, or toothbrush kept for this purpose only
⦁ Soak the dentures in a commercial denture cleaner, carefully following the manufacturer’s instructions
⦁ The person’s mouth should be cleaned with toothpaste if they have teeth and a dry mouth gel may be used if they don’t have their own teeth

A dentist visit should be arranged at the earliest opportunity.
It’s very important to continue providing oral health care with a very soft toothbrush. The gum disease will not improve unless the bacteria that is causing it is removed.

It is essential to record the oral care provided in a residential home, so that other members of staff, including senior management, are aware of the current situation.
If a resident is constantly refusing all healthcare, this situation cannot be ignored.
If a serious problem develops such as oral cancer; a requirement for multiple extractions or health being compromised due to mouth problems, evidence of due care and attention will be required.
Best practice is for there to be an oral healthcare champion within any care or nursing home and a bespoke oral care plan should be available for every resident.

Contact Detail

Support

We’re here to help you find the perfect oral care solution for your needs.

Phone

(0)333 4440228

Email

support@buddiesforlife.co.uk

Address

Lobal Ltd, 78 York Street, London W1H 1DP

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