by Quick post on this subject…because I do believe oral health is directly related to overall general health. Bacteria in the mouth, can lead to infections in the body.
When shopping for hygiene products, there are three COMMON ingredients we avoid where possible:
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate–this is a main ingredient in most commercial shampoos, cosmetics, and toothpastes. In toothpastes, it’s been shown to cause a higher incidence of canker sores and that’s minor. Do your research!
- Propylene Glycol–found in automatic brake and hydraulic fluid, industrial antifreeze, paint, degreasers, wallpaper strippers and more… can cause liver dysfunction and kidney problems and more!
- Fluoride–according to the Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, fluoride is more poisonous than lead, and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. It is a cumulative poison that accumulates in bone over time. After hearing about young children dying from accidentally swallowing their fluoride treatments in the dentist’s chair, we request no fluoride at our appointments.I won’t even comment about it being in our water supply!
So in light of the above, it’s been important to me to find healthy alternatives to what is typically available at Wal-mart. Wal-mart does carry Tom’s of Maine brand toothpaste, which is a “natural” toothpaste with no fluoride…but it does contain propylene glycol.
We’ve found that our favorite commercial toothpaste is JASON Cosmetics brand Powersmile toothpaste, available through the Frontier co-op site and some health food stores. Vanilla Mint is the BEST tasting toothpaste I’ve had in all my 35 years. It’s amazing, for the whole family. This toothpaste boasts the following:
- Certified organic ingredients
- Natural flavor
- Exclusive natural whiteners
- Bacteria-blaster promotes healthy gums
- Long lasting breath freshener
- No fluoride
- No saccharin
- No preservatives
- No artificial colors or flavors
- No animal by-products
- No animal testing
- no lauryl sulfates
- No propylene glycol
Sounds perfect, huh. It’s the good stuff.
Make your own. :O) Now there’s a fresh idea!
However much we like and recommend JASON brand toothpastes…recently, we’ve been using plain ole baking soda to clean our pearly whites. It’s cheap, easy, and on hand. Wet the toothbrush, add a little baking soda (Bob’s Red Mill brand–aluminum free!), a single drop of wintergreen or peppermint essential oil (more than a drop will make your mouth burn!) and wow, your teeth look and feel like you’ve just been to the dentist for a cleaning. We’re hooked.
There are some great recipes online for homemade “tooth soaps”, kept in soap dispensers, which sound like a great way to contain the mess and squirt out however much you need w/o sharing germs.
So there you go, a few alternatives to name-brand toothpastes and all their potentially toxic ingredients!
More than you wanted to know? ;O)
Really nice post (even though its a few years old its still a good read and not dated). I am totally against animal testing because I dont believe that it is done correctly and I dont think that it does enough to remove the potential dangers from products so seeing your list of products really was a breath of fresh air. I have until now never really thought of toothpaste as been something that is to be tested on animals.
Even when a product has been tested substantially on animals there are often dangers to humans that are later discovered making the suffering even more wasteful, I have an overview of some of the dangers associated with cosmetics on my blog that would link nicely with this, if you dont mind me sharing its located at:
http://mitocw.net/well-there-are-dangers-in-the-powder-puff
I have personally abandoned toothpaste permanently! I suffer from canker sores occasionally and I have heard that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate causes the skin in the inside of the mouth to “sluff” and make getting canker sores more likely.
What I like to use is hydrogen peroxide. I brush my teeth and then gargle with hydrogen peroxide and my mouth feels totally clean. I think its the cheapest and best way to clean your mouth.
I have also heard (if I am remembering correctly, I might be wrong in what I say here since it has been so long) that fluoride hurts the phosphorus in your teeth and actually causes faster tooth decay!
There’s also been studies on fluoride that they are now discovering there could be a link to thyroid problems and too much fluoride.