Do Whitening Strips Actually Work? And Are They Safe?
Products & Reviews8 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerYes, whitening strips work, and they work on the actual colour of the tooth rather than just the surface, because they contain peroxide. What they do not do is whiten evenly across a mouth that has crowns, veneers, or white fillings, reach the surfaces between overlapping teeth, or help much with grey or...
Best Water Flosser: The One You’ll Actually Use, and How to Pick It
Products & Reviews9 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerThe best water flosser is the one that ends up on your counter instead of in a drawer, which usually means a countertop unit with a reservoir big enough to finish your whole mouth without a refill, an adjustable pressure range, and the right tip for whatever is in your mouth. Water flossers...
Lead in Toothpaste: What the Testing Actually Found
Products & Reviews8 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerIndependent testing has found detectable lead in most toothpastes on the shelf, which sounds alarming and mostly is not. The published risk assessment found the amounts are far below what you get from ordinary food, and the exceedances that did turn up were in children under worst case assumptions, meaning kids swallowing paste...
Is Charcoal Toothpaste Safe? What Years of Use Look Like
Products & Reviews8 min read • By Dr. Kevin Baharvand, DMD, MS • Updated August 2026The short answerOccasional use is unlikely to hurt you. Daily use is a different question, and the honest answer is that most charcoal toothpastes are more abrasive than conventional paste, most contain no fluoride, and the whitening they deliver is surface polishing rather than a change in tooth colour. Enamel does not grow back. The...