Saturday 6 June 2015

Because teeth have feeling too!

"A perfect smile guaranteed"! There are hundreds of slogans like these to advertise toothpaste and other oral hygiene products. And yes it's important! We only get our adult teeth once and cavities can be painful, expensive and unsightly. 

Recently a friend gave me a cut out of a 2004 magazine article about Colgate toothpaste ingredients explaining what each ingredient does and pointing out health risks with some of these ingredients. Many of the ingredients were concerning but I thought that since its now 2015 they will surely have changed it by now? Wrong! The ingredient list has hardly changed and most of the concerning ingredients are still there. And yes there has been more research done and more articles written yet government regulations haven't changed and so Colgate haven't changed the recipe of their $100+ million/year product - Colgate Total.

The main active ingredient in most mainstream toothpastes is Fluoride. Fluoride has also been added to main water supplies in the past  and still is in many places (you can find out where here) although more people are now opposing it. Dentists have trumpeted the virtues of fluoride for years, claiming it's the best defense against tooth decay. Fluoride supposedly builds strong, healthy teeth. In reality, sodium fluoride, a by-product of aluminum manufacturing, can also be found in rat poisons and industrial pesticides. Did you know there is enough fluoride in a tube of toothpaste to kill a small child in 2-4 hours? Ingesting even a small amount of sodium fluoride may cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Yet despite its dangers, sodium fluoride continues to be a staple in all leading brands of toothpaste.

The next ingredient and perhaps the most concerning is Triclocsan – Colgate removed it from soaps and other products in 2011 (due to consumer concerns) but left it in their toothpaste. It hit the news in summer 2014 again (see one such article here) and the FDA are now saying they will finally give a ruling on Triclocsan use in 2016 after they first looked into it in 1974!! Europe has already banned it in any products coming into contact with food but still allow it in Colgate Total. No other major toothpaste brand puts this ingredient in toothpaste and Total is also the only toothpaste the FDA have approved with it in.

Then there is Sodium lauryl sulphate - Added as a detergent and cleansing agent (often used as an engine degreaser), sodium laurel sulfate and its cousin sodium laureth sulfate pose a wide range of potential health risks. On its own, sodium laurel sulfate can damage eyes, irritate skin and lead to labored breathing. According to the American College of Toxicology, sodium laurel sulfate may stay within the body for up to five days, accumulating in the heart, liver, lungs and brain. When combined with certain other chemicals, sodium laurel sulfate transforms into nitrosamines, a class of powerful carcinogens that cause the body to absorb harmful nitrates.

And here are 4 for more they say are safe but I don’t really want in my mouth:
·         Titanium dioxide
·         Sodium hydroxide
·         Hydrated silica
·         E133 (blue colouring)

Like many of the products used there is often not enough research so companies use products they say are approved by agencies or at least that are not banned. But I don’t think that’s good enough—companies are first and foremost trying to make a profit. Colgate Total sales is $100 million each year! I wouldn’t expect them to make adjustments until a government agency forces them to and without the exact research showing links to health issues and cancers the governments seem to be reluctant to change these regulations. But there are alternative toothpastes available. Mypure and Naturismo both stock alternatives-I have just ordered a couple of brands to try out. Also Boots still stock an old brand that has been around for years called Euthymol. Most of these are free of all the above ingredients and made with all natural ingredients. 


I spoke to my dentist about this and after saying flossing and using interdental brushes to get between teeth were more important than using fluoride toothpaste, he said "Simple solution - cut sugar out of your diet!" (I agree - see my previous blog on sugar)


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