I prefer Total's 'whitening' toothpaste to other brands mainly because it does NOT contain peroxide. I personally want clean teeth and I appreciate white teeth but using something that comes with a bleaching agent, twice a day would be a little too radical for me. However, anyone looking for quickly visible results should look elsewhere because, if this Total whitens teeth at all, it's doing it through an agent that 'gently removes surface stains' - no bleaching.
I like Total and I've been using it for many years because my teeth do feel clean and my breath does feel fresh and I haven't had any major dental issues in quite a few years. Of course, it's difficult to apportion credit between the tooth paste, the toothbrush (I use Sonicare) and the daily use of floss picks (Glide).
The active ingredients are:
- Sodium fluoride 0.24% (0.15% v/w fluoride ion) [Anticavity]
- Triclosan 0.30% [Antigingivitis]
It's probably worth stating that children under 6 years should not use this product and the maker recommends that children under 12 years must be trained in good brushing and rinsing techniques to minimize swallowing.