Have you ever wondered what in the world is in toothpaste? If you have, you’ve looked on the box or the tube to see there is nothing there. Maybe you found a box insert with the minuscule type that is barely legible that offered some information. Why are the ingredients not obvious?
That is deliberate and for very good reason. Toothpaste is not the healthiest thing you will put in your mouth today.
Even the FDA recognizes that there are dangers with toothpaste poisoning. They refer to it as “accidental ingestion overdose.” In speaking of toothpaste, the FDA warns “In case of accidental ingestion, seek professional assistance or contact a Poison Control Center immediately.” They go on to state that this information might confuse a user of over-the-counter toothpaste products who might believe the amount swallowed during normal use was dangerous. They continue with this statement, saying “Accidental Ingestion does not refer to the amount of product swallowed during normal use.”
So there you have it from the protectors of our foods and drugs in America. Apparently, a little poison, used daily and absorbed through the skin of the mouth and ingested by swallowing in small amounts is okey-dokey. That train of thinking must fall under the FDA category of GRAS, Generally Regarded As Safe.
We know that 4 ounces of most toothpastes can kill a small child, yet, we have no fear of letting our skin absorb it two or three times a day for eighty plus years. A closer look will tell you how dangerous toothpaste is for your body.
You will find ingredients such as fluoride, which is absolutely toxic to the human body and designated as an "unapproved" drug by the FDA; saccharine, a known carcinogen; titanium dioxide which whitens teeth and white paint; carrageenan, a seaweed byproduct known to cause stomach and bowel upsets while inflaming the body with links to cancer; sodium lauryl sulfate, another known carcinogen and formaldehyde are at the top of the list of usual ingredients. Combined with those are dangerous dyes and petroleum products that have no business in the human body.
There are many alternatives to commercial toothpaste that are toxin free and even good for the body. Homemade varieties are not so luxurious or convenient as some of the other possibilities, but they can be made to be clean. Many holistic and natural brands are made with the convenience of a tube for dispensing and have very similar qualities as commercial name brands in terms of taste and use. These have varying levels of cleanliness, quality and natural attributes. Beware, Corporate America is purchasing 'healthy' brands and sometimes corrupting those options.
To be fair, in researching product toxicity on EWG.org there were many choices in the 1-3 range, with 10 being the worst. The healthiest versions had some 1 ratings and both healthy lines and commercial lines had some 3 ratings. Commercial lines showed most in the 5 range of toxicity.
You cannot buy by brand. Each product is independently tested and ratings vary.
For a homemade version see: https://www.searchforthecausenotjustthecure.com/blog/why-choose-a-safer-toothpaste
Give nature a try.