On this note, I just use water 90% ot the time to brush my teeth, it seems flossing aggressively handles breath issues for me, i am the only person I know in their 30s to not ever have had a cavity.BTW - curious - what if your toothpaste - which seems to be re-invented every year - does not prevent cavities, does not prevent gum disease, etc etc. IMHO - The majority of these claims are untrue. I remember (back some years) when dentyne gum supposedly prevented cavities - there was some huge lawsuit (which they lost) - now there is at least one gum producer making the same claim.
I don't understand why abrasives are always needed. Sometimes it helps though.