if you can see a scratch, ypu may be able to repair it. i buy a lot of used cd's. some have feint scratches. they make cd cleaner kits w soft cloth & cd wax. it fills the scratch and then the infrared light wil pass over w/o stopping at the break in surface continuity. i have never tried toothpaste, but it should work, if it doesn't harden and crack. good luck.