What is the quickest natural way into the bloodstream that even the medical community uses to this day? Absorption under the tongue. Hold any chemical substance, toxic or non, in your mouth and it will soak right through into your bloodstream in seconds.

Are you and your children taking in daily doses of toxic chemicals while brushing your teeth, killing germs and freshening your breath?

In a local popular chain store, I scoured the shelves of conventional toothpaste and mouthwash looking for natural ingredients.  As I read the ingredients list on box after box of conventional toothpaste and on bottles of mouthwash, I found very few natural ingredients among all the toxic chemicals. Sadly, these seem to be our nations favorite toothpastes and mouthwashes. I then was stunned to realize for the first time, as I looked over the conventional dental floss brands, that many of the dental flosses are coated with toxic chemicals to produce a better glide and to kill bacteria.

After reading this article, I am hoping you will read the ingredients on the toothpaste, mouthwash and dental floss (yes, I said dental floss!) that you use and think hard about weather you really want yourself or any other family members to use it… even one more time.

Remember: YOUR BODY DOES NOT HAVE the enzymes to break down synthetic and certain other chemicals. This allows them to accumulate in the body over time. So, do not be fooled by talk that toxic chemicals can be used in consumer products safely in small amounts.

Further down in the article you will find safe and healthy alternatives.

It has taken me many hours to compile the following list of toxic chemical ingredients, with some of their uses and their side effects.  I have researched in depth reading many scientific research and manufacturing reports as well as human research studies in order to know for myself the truth about these chemicals so as not to just rely on other articles I have read.  Not all the toxic ingredients used in toothpaste, mouthwash and to coat dental floss are here but many of the most common are.

• Flouride. Most of the fluoride in your toothpaste and at your dentist office is not the naturally occurring fluoride that is found in our earth’s soil. Neither is the fluoride added to municipal drinking water. It is a toxic chemical byproduct created by man through other processes that has been falsely reported to be a “natural” fluoride. Many recent studies show that fluoride is directly linked to arthritis, bone fractures, cancers, diabetes, infertility and heart, kidney and thyroid diseases.

   Flouride Is A Major Risk Factor For Disfiguring Dental Flourosis in children.

         Swallowing fluoride, as is the case with fluoridated drinking water, is especially detrimental to your health. Science clearly demonstrates that fluoride is a toxic chemical that accumulates in your tissues over time. It wreaks havoc with enzymes and produces a number of serious adverse health effects including neurological and endocrine dysfunction.

Children swallow a great deal of the toothpaste that they put into their mouth.

(Endocrine system- the organs that produce and process hormones)

Natural fluoride is labeled POISON with a skull and cross bones in laboratory bottles.

IT IS A POISON.

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. A detergent used to produce foam or suds in personal care products. A detergent so harsh that diluting it alone can clean a filthy oil stained garage floor spotless. Also used as a sweetener. SLS and SLES are commonly contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, a byproduct of the manufacturing process that is “possibly carcinogenic to humans” and may also cause damage to the kidneys, liver and central nervous system, according to the National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health. According to the American College of Toxicology, SLS may stay in the body for up to five days accumulating in the heart, liver, lungs and brain. When combined with certain other chemicals, SLS transforms into nitrosamines, a class of powerful carcinogens that cause the body to absorb harmful nitrates.

• Triclosan. An antibacterial that kills the good bacteria along with the bad. This temporarily weakens the body’s immune system. Long term use promotes antibiotic resistance. Triclosan is a known endocrine disruptor. The EPA classifies Triclosan as a pesticide, stating it posts a risk to both human health and the environment. Scientists categorize triclosan as a chlorophenol, a type of chemical suspected of causing cancer in humans.

In 2016 the FDA banned Triclosan from soap products that we wash with due to its harmful effects but not from toothpaste that we put in our mouths.

• Stannous Chloride. Very Scary! I could find no reason for this to be in Crest toothpaste. It is an extremely toxic substance used often in the making of tin cans. It has been used as an antioxidant in some canned vegetables. I have to assume this same irrational reasoning where toothpaste is concerned. This substance is not to be inhaled or come into contact with skin at all.

• Saccharin. A lab-produced “sugar” made from crude oil. (Yum!) Several studies have linked it to cancer.

• Food Grade Dyes. Most all food dyes have many studies linking them to tumor growth on various organs of the body as well as to attention disorders. Blue 1 is known to cause liver damage.

• Pentasodium Triphosphate.  A synthetic used as an emulsifier to keep products moist. Environmental problems are associated with its widespread use. It is an irritant and gives off toxic fumes.

• Polyethylene Glycol (PEG). General PEG’s are petroleum based chemicals that function as penetration enhancers. They aid in the absorption of other chemicals into the body both good and harmful. They are often found in cosmetics although I did find them in some toothpastes. They are not safe for damaged “skin”. Got a cut or sore in your mouth? Known to cause irritation and systemic toxicity.

• Chlorhexidine. Kills your good bacteria along with the bad, compromising your immune system. Linked to increased blood pressure and heart problems.

• Hexitidine. Also kills bacteria. Known to produce allergic reactions and unstable heartbeat.

• Methylparaben. Used to extend shelf life. Known endocrine disruptor. Affects estrogen production. Linked to breast tumors in women in a British study.

***THE FDA RESTRICTS ONLY 11 TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM BEING USED IN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS, COMPARED TO THE 1550 TOXIC CHEMICALS THE EUROPEAN UNION RESTRICTS OFF THE SAME LIST. (2016)

If we stopped using products with toxic ingredients, the manufacturers would soon stop producing them.

Not all products labeled “natural” truly are. However, they are usually a great deal healthier than their conventional counterparts. To ensure you are purchasing a truly all natural product, read it’s ingredients lists, both active and inactive. If there are any ingredients you do not recognize and they are not defined for you, look them up. We must, as a nation, take responsibility for our health and the health of our children. Gone are the days of being able to blindly trust the beauty and healthcare products that are on the store shelves for us to buy.

There are actually quite a few truly all natural oral care products. Natural products can take care of gingivitis and tooth decay effectively. They can be found in health food stores and on Amazon.

Or, You Can Make Your Own. One of the simplest is to take equal parts coconut oil and baking soda and then add your favorite food grade essential oil such as peppermint, wintergreen or cinnamon.

Oil Pulling: Take 1 Tablespoon coconut oil into your mouth and swish and suck it about for 2 or 3 minutes. Coconut oil kills streptococcus and candida (linked to cancer) which cause tooth decay, inflammation and secondary infections in the body.  This action will cleanse, sanitize, brighten and tighten your beautiful smile.