Does your toothpaste contain FDA banned chemicals?

Recently the FDA banned a list of 17 chemicals from hand soaps. One that has been on my radar for awhile now is triclosan. It’s found in many antibacterial soaps, pesticides, and many toothpastes. From what I can find triclosan hasn’t been banned from toothpaste, so you still have to be careful to read the ingredients. I’m a fan of many Colgate products, but I know several of their toothpastes contain triclosan. The toothpastes that we distribute and recommend doesn’t contain triclosan.

Here is a short list, from the American Dental Association, of ingredients that you should find in toothpaste:

• Mild abrasives to remove debris and residual surface stains. Examples include calcium carbonate, dehydrated silica gels, hydrated aluminum oxides, magnesium carbonate, phosphate salts and silicates. Some of these make the toothpaste more alkaline, or buffer acids, which is good for your teeth.

• Fluoride to strengthen tooth enamel and prevent tooth decay. 

• Thickening agents or binders to stabilize the toothpaste formula. They include mineral colloids, natural gums, seaweed colloids or synthetic cellulose.

Companies have 12 months to get triclosan out of soaps, or prove that it’s more helpful than harmful. Using a toothpaste with the ingredients listed above for 3 minutes twice a day, as part a good dental care regimen, will keep your teeth healthy for a lifetime.