Plastic Toothpaste?

24 Sep Plastic Toothpaste?

That’s right.

Those pretty blue specs you see in your toothpaste? Plastic. POLYETHYLENE to be exact; the most common plastic in the world, used to make water bottles, plastic bags from the grocery store, and now your toothpaste.

Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Crest Toothpaste, use tiny polyethylene microbeads in some of their toothpastes (like Crest Pro Health and Crest 3D White) to make it more appealing to consumers. This plastic is non-biodegradable, so it does not break down in your mouth, or when it goes down the drain. The plastic is accumulating in our water supplies, our food chain…and also in our gum line, which could lead to serious periodontal defects around the tooth. That is not appealing.

Our office contacted Proctor & Gamble directly about this issue. They told us that their products are completely “safe to use and FDA approved”, but they plan to phase out this chemical from their product line within the next 6 months. Please be aware it may take longer to see these products off the store shelves in the Chicago area, so be sure to read the ingredients list on the box (P&G does not put the ingredient list on the tube).  We encourage you to read all labels! This plastic is found in over 100 personal care items in addition to your toothpaste.

For now, we recommend you throw away any toothpastes with these ingredients and purchase one that does not contain polyethylene (such as Colgate or Tom’s of Main).  Take your kids with you to let them pick out their own tube! We find that when they have some ownership in their dental health, they are more excited to brush!