Natural Toothpastes
I am quasi Hippy. I mean, I like to shower, and I wear anti-perspirant, and I love to eat cute animals (the cuter the better actually), but...... I am kind of hippy because I like my steak organic and grass fed, I take public transit, I recycle and compost hard, and I like my health care products as natural as possible.
Now that I own a dental practice, I am beginning to see how horrible this profession is to our planet, and how many chemicals we throw at people everyday. Yes, some are necessary; natural fillings just do not work so we need plastic ones, and "hazardous chemicals" such as Fluoride can be proven disease fighters. There are tons of chemicals and plastics, however, that we do not need to use or consume that are overly abundant in the dental field.
I have been infuriating all of my suppliers because I keep asking for environmentally friendly options.....and, really, I think that I am going to need to start my own line of dental products because I just can't find what I want.
One of the things that I have been looking for is a natural toothpaste in a recyclable/refillable container, WITH fluoride.
Let us talk dentifrice.
If you guys read my last two posts, you will see that the mechanical removal of oral biofilm from the dentition is imperative to promote periodontal health. Another important aspect of brushing is caries prevention. But what exactly are you brushing with?
Take a glance at the ingredient list in your toothpaste. If you have a name brand product, you will see that they are full of synthetic chemicals......that is if they even list the "non-medicinal" ingredients. Most of these chemicals have very little to do with the protective action of the toothpaste, but are there to improve how the toothpaste feels or how it tastes or looks. I get it. People do not want to brush their teeth with something that feels slimy or tastes like butts.
You will see that most toothpastes contain chemicals that are on this list:
and others such as Titanium Dioxide which are not necessarily the best for you.
So I started looking for natural toothpastes. I want to find a toothpaste that has no SLS, no estrogenic compounds, no plastic microbeads, but one that HAS fluoride. These natural hippies have such a rediculous vendetta on Fluoride that they refuse to put it in their products, but some still have SLS, titanium dioxide and even lead. None of those protect your teeth from caries and are probably more toxic than fluoride.
Another thing about the natural toothpastes that are on the market is that most come in disposable plastic tubes that are definitely not refillable. Why do we need all of that packaging? Can't we just get a refillable glass container?
I have looked at a few pastes and really have not been happy with any of them:
Tom's has SLS in it. Green Beaver has no fluoride in it and Redmond clay toothpaste does not have the 1000 ppm required to fight cavities. Kiss my face has a bunch of other Sodium Lauryth derivatives and titanium dioxide......and the other ones do not have fluoride and contain stuff like tea tree oil, which can be quite irritating to the oral mucosa. These "natural" toothpastes are either not very natural at all, or do not fight cavities.
So I am on the hunt. I have even called a bunch of manufacturers, who all scoff at my idea of recyclable or refillable containers. One "Doctor" told me that if I am concerned about my environmental footprint, that I should not reproduce, because the world is overpopulated. Shocking. He continued by telling me that I have to "get over my ego" and buy his product because it is the best and that I am a fool to think that someone would want a recyclable container.
I am boycotting http://squigle.com/ products just based on my conversation with him.
Needless to say, my search has not been very fruitful. If you guys have a lead on a natural, 1000 ppm fluoride toothpaste that comes in an environmentally friendly (preferrably refillable) container, please drop me a line so I can check them out and source them in bulk for my office!
Namaste. And eat steak.
Thanks for reading.
Dr. Dave
drdave@alfaropros.com
