# Why isn't toothpaste simply all enamel?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-toothpaste-simply-all-enamel/343497>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-toothpaste-simply-all-enamel/343497 "2006-02-08T03:35:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-toothpaste-simply-all-enamel/343497/1 "2006-02-08T03:35:58Z")

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Supposedly, the dentist works enamel over our teeth, as I understand it. So, why not simply have a toothpaste that’s all enamel??? Or, would it put dentists out of their jobs? - Jinx

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**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-toothpaste-simply-all-enamel/343497/2 "2006-02-08T04:12:43Z")

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Dentists don’t apply enamel to teeth. They clean teeth with an abrasive paste, and drill and file and pick with various metal implements and apply metallic or ceramic crowns or fillings, but the only enamel they work with is the stuff that’s already there.

Regular toothpaste contains fluoride, which helps to re-mineralize enamel that’s been softened by acids produced by bacteria, but toothpaste that actually contained enamel a) would have to get that enamel from somewhere, and I don’t think most people would fancy putting ground-up cadaver teeth in their mouths, and b) would be incredibly abrasive – since it would be the same hardness as your teeth, it would etch and grind them down.

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**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-toothpaste-simply-all-enamel/343497/3 "2006-02-08T06:31:28Z")

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From [http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/11063.html](http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/11063.html):

> [@](#):
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> Growing artificial enamel is a decades-old goal among researchers in dental science and, more generally, in the medical-device community. As a filling material, enamel has the potential to outperform less durable substances such as composites and silver-mercury alloys. Medical-device developers are constantly searching for durable natural materials to use in place of titanium and plastic parts.

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**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-toothpaste-simply-all-enamel/343497/4 "2006-02-08T14:36:28Z")

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Is enamel simple enough to have a chemical formula, or is it more varied, like, say, hair?