One of the first changes we made in our home was switching out our toothpastes. I actually started to research the ingredients in toothpaste quite a while before deciding to write this blog, but after I found out that there are specific ingredients that are thought to cause or irritate canker sores that are frequently included in toothpastes. My husband gets pretty awful canker sores, so we were trying to see if maybe our toothpaste was causing them. What I learned is that a lot of toothpastes have a chemical called Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) in them to create a foaming agent. This chemical is a bit controversial on whether it is harmful in personal care products, but there is some evidence it can cause/irritate canker sores. I decided that it was worth our time to try a toothpaste without SLS and see if it made a difference. I ordered Tanner and baby girl their own separate Hello toothpastes, a toddler training one without fluoride, and one for sensitive teeth. I did a lot of research on natural toothpaste brands because I really want our toothpaste to still work but would love it to have better ingredients. I seriously read SOOO many amazon reviews trying to see what people thought about different natural brands. I also read several different articles dentists had written to make sure I didn’t make any crazy choices, especially since I was getting baby girl’s first toothpaste as she had just gotten her first tooth. There are a lot of other natural brands out there, but I liked the ingredients used by this brand and the reviews. I will say that these do not rate as high on the EWG scale or Think Dirty app, but I felt a lot better about the ingredients in it than the toothpaste we had been buying previously and still felt like it was a good change. For reference they rated as a 3 on Think Dirty which I felt was still pretty clean, as 10 is the worst.
I wish I could say that Tanner hadn’t gotten any canker sores since we switched over, but truthfully it hasn’t solved the problem, although I do feel like he has gotten less since switching over. Thea loves hers, she’s alright with her teeth being brushed with it but really just prefers to hold the bottle. I ended up choosing the organic apple flavor for her, and I haven’t tried it…haha but Tanner did accidentally the other day and said it tastes fine. 🙂
This week I finally got close enough to the bottom of my old bottle of crest that I decided to finally get my own. I will admit that sometimes I use Tanner’s even though I picked it specifically for him. I decided to try the charcoal toothpaste because I’ve been feeling like my teeth aren’t looking super white and there were good reviews on people seeing improvement in the brightness of their teeth. I figure it’s worth a chance. Also the company Hello wants people to be able to choose whether or not they want fluoride in their toothpaste so they actually have a lot of options for both, you just have to make sure you read closely and pick whichever you want. I know that a lot of people who are cutting out toxic products try to cut out fluoride in toothpaste, but until we have some good dental insurance after college I’m too scared to try using toothpaste without it as I have definitely had my fair share of cavities over the years. Also fluoride is a topic I would prefer to ask my dentist about, because I want to make sure I am making an educated decision about it.
I am not opposed to trying other natural toothpastes after we finish these bottles, but I will definitely be making sure I continue to stay away from SLS to try to help prevent cankers at our house. Buying Hello toothpaste has been a good choice in our house, and I am happy to have a better option with ingredients I feel better about.
Sources:
homepage
WELL BALANCED 