Natural Toothpastes for the Grown-ups! And I Digress. A lot.

As promised (and I'm sure you are super excited for!) here is a list of my favorite natural toothpastes.

It's an easy list because there is really only one I've ever liked.

But let me back up a minute. (Follow the yellow highlights for the Reader's Digest version)

(Digression 1)

When I was at The Minimalist talk the blonde guy mentioned that with every interaction he has he always tries to add value to other people's lives. Which got me to thinking about the ways I could add value. And add value to this blog specifically.

So what do I know about? One of the easiest things I came up with is my ten years of experience, research, and knowledge of natural and chemical-free products. I've been obsessed with using toxin-free home and beauty products way before I ever got diagnosed with something directly related to toxins. And that's not to say I'm perfect in my usage. Because I am most certainly not. Sometimes only bleach will do. And, as mentioned in my diaper chat, I'm a marketer's romantic dream. Put the right color and font on a package and bam! my credit card is quivering in it's sleeve. But I try and try again. And since there is nothing cheap about natural products it's taken me a while (and added to my credit card debt) to explore all the different products out there. So it's time to share!

Which brings me back to....

TOOTHPASTE  (come back down here)

First things first. What is wrong with regular toothpaste?

(Digression 2)

According to the grand poobah of toxins, Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database, toothpaste is one of the least toxic products on the market - even when you buy conventional brands. Colgate regular paste, for example, rates only a 2 out of 10. The worst ingredient in Colgate regular toothpaste is flavor. It's only when you get into whitening, tartar prevention, extra foaming, and extreme flavors that the toxin rates of toothpastes start to rise.

I'm also not big into caring about fluoride vs. fluoride-free. I haven't really read compelling evidence for fluoride's benefit or toxicity. I shy away from toothpastes with fluoride because I drink tap water with fluoride in it already so I don't think I need more. And I was told over and over again when I had braces 3x (yes 3) that I needed to swish with a fluoride solution (Phos-Flur) all the time (which I did religiously because I liked the flavor) to prevent staining and all sorts of other stuff that happens underneath braces. Well guess what, it didn't. So I'm not convinced of fluoride's curative powers. But I'm not an expert.

So, again, why do I care about toothpaste?

Simple answer: I'm a hippie at heart.

If I could avoid chemicals all the time I would, even though my biologist and chemistry loving bestie constantly reminds me that not all chemicals are bad. True. I'm very glad for lots of chemicals in my life like the chemicals that made this computer I'm typing to you on.

Anyhoo. There are some things in regular toothpaste that I personally would like to avoid. Mainly dyes, artificial flavors (EWG score of 4), and the worst offender in my book - fake sugars like saccharin - which have been linked to neurological problems, among other things. While the EWG only gives saccharin a 1 (with limited data), my anecdotal evidence of watching my family gulp down fake sugars all day long and have many a health problem is enough for me to stay away. Plus one time I used Crest Pro-Health and my mouth went numb for a day. (Google it. I'm not alone.)

Bottom line though: I'm not going to freak out if I have to use regular paste for awhile.

START AGAIN HERE (Whoops that was a long digression)

There are lots of products I still find inferior to their chemically laden brethren (laundry detergent and shampoo top my list) and toothpaste was one of them until I got smitten with the packaging at Honest Company and tried almost everything they offer.

After 10 years of searching. The WINNER!

Like swishing with ocean water if you like that sort of thing.

Their toothpaste is hands down the best I've tried in a decade of searching. The two things that plague natural toothpastes are mouth feel and flavor. Pastes feel too sticky/pastey (I think I made that word up) and gels feel too gooey. Without Sodium Lauryl Sulfate to foam it up you don't get that "clean" feeling.  In the flavor department the flavors are either too intense (did you ever make "Wintergreen" smell in your science class?) or too bizarre - like this Salt one from Weleda.



Honest Toothpaste has a great mouth feel. The most comparable to regular toothpaste I've found. While the flavor isn't super awesome it is minty and not overwhelming or fake tasting. Honest toothpaste also foams slightly and leaves your teeth feeling clean. Especially when brushed right after a nice oil pulling sesh.

As Lil'D moves up into the toothpaste world I'll be trying out new natural toothpastes for her. I've already given this strawberry one a solid B. Taste was a B+ (Good, Acceptable, Could be Better), but mouth feel was pastey gross. B-/C+ 

In a pinch, this will do.

So there. Now you have it folks. 

(Skip to here)

Honest Toothpaste is the Winner!

Unfortunately you can only order through Honest at this time, but I'm a big fan of a lot of their products so I recommend trying a bundle.

If you have a specific natural toothpaste in mind... feel free to ask me about it! 

There is a 95% chance I've tried it.

Hearts and Pups,

Daisy

Teef Crazy - Pulling the Daytime Oil - Part 3

I've turned into a crazy, oil pulling zealot in the last three weeks. I'm not exaggerating when I say that oil pulling has revolutionized my life. I wish there was something so easy that would revolutionize my procrastination, my cooking skills, or my ability to maintain a tidy home. (Catch up on my oil pulling adventure here)

Although the tangible, visible results have slowed down a bit (once your teeth get dramatically whiter in 3 days, anything after the fact seems very slow),  I'm still noticing subtle changes - less plaque, pinker gums. But (like the true oil pulling evangelist I've become) the biggest change has been in myself. Truth is I really enjoy flossing and brushing now.

Laugh all you want but it's a pretty happy relationship I have going on with floss. And I'm not ashamed to shout it from the roof tops. I'm not afraid to jump on Oprah's couch. 

But you don't just have to believe crazy, faux hippies like myself. Read all about the clinical study here but the conclusion is: "Oil pulling can be used as an effective preventive adjunct in maintaining and improving oral health." Note the word adjunct. I still brush twice a day and floss every other day or so (much better than my previous once every two weeks). When people don't treat oil as an adjunct to brushing is where they lose interest. From comments around the blogs people are concerned with this being a morning activity and not having enough time. Although I do it in the morning, there have been days when it's best done at night when the baby is asleep and there is no one pressing to talk to for 20 minutes. As long as it's done daily alongside brushing your teeth I see no reason why you can't oil pull whenever you want.

I wish Lil' D could swish some oil with me but, alas, with four, half teeth and the lack of communication skills we are stuck with doing it the old fashioned way for awhile. She just got her first toothbrush. (Stand by for gratuitous pictures of my child).

 

"Wish I could Oil Pull"

Next up:  my recommendations for best natural toothpastes to go with your oil pulling mania.

Pulling the Daytime Oil- Update

Today is Day 6 of oil pulling and I gotta say.

I LOVE IT!

Out of all the crazy, kooky things I've tried this one may stick.

My teeth (along with the rest of me) took a beating during pregnancy and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. And then voila! On Day 3 JTS (unprompted) told me my teeth look whiter!

I've figured out how much coconut oil is comfortable for me (although the initial melting in the mouth still makes me a wee bit gaggy) and as long as I can swish it around in the shower = No problem.

Although my teeth look whiter and feel shinier and more "squeaky clean." I'm still brushing. I have the kind of bite/smile that attracts spinach to its white corners like dog hair to a white sofa. So I can't imagine that's going to go away anytime soon. And though I can still feel a bit of tooth fuzziness (plaque?) that people swear goes away - I flossed this morning for the first time in a week and nothing was there. I'm not sure where the leftovers are going but there was seriously nothing to floss.

Prit-tee amazing if you ask me.

I looked this up and you can use other oils like olive oil instead of coconut, but I've kind of gotten used to coconut oil (although sometimes I still really want to swallow it all or spit it all out).

So you heard it here 4th or 5th folks! Go out and get yerself some oil and start pulling!

Pulling the Daytime Oil: Day One

I'm oil pulling as I write this blog.

That sounds disgusting.

And so far it has been.

Confession: I hate brushing my teeth.

Don't worry, unlike when I was in 2nd grade and created a game to see if vigorously rubbing my teeth with a washcloth could trick my mom into thinking I brushed my teeth (answer = yes!), I actually do brush my teeth these days. I am a responsible adult after all. I brush 2x a day as recommended. Sometimes I floss. But I still don't like it and I have noticed that as I get older my teeth don't look as great as they used to. Years of red wine and coca-cola consumption probably haven't helped. But whitening products really irritate my mouth, regular toothpastes have some weird stuff in them, and natural toothpastes don't give me the clean feel I want.

Then last week I read about oil pulling over at Design Mom and being the quasi-hippie that I am I wanted to give it a whirl. Literally.

What is oil pulling you may ponder?

It's where instead of brushing and flossing your teeth you swish oil around in your mouth for 20 minutes. I've done reiki, brennan energy healing, ear candling, past life meditations, and washed my hair for 2 weeks in very expensive dirt - why not try some oil pulling for a week?

Since I'm currently a tightwad, this is the oil I'm stuck with for awhile. Blarg!

Right now I'm swishing coconut oil around in my mouth, although at this point, 18 minutes in, it feels more like coconut flavored spit. It does make me want to gag. Coconut oil is the present oil darling in health land - grabbing it's health baton from olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil and all the other oil fads that have come before it. But no matter how much everyone is going on and on about coconut products - you simply can't ignore the fact that coconut oil is pure, unadulterated saturated fat. The kind that yes, in moderation, may be o.k. but still will absolutely clog your arteries. Since I don't particularly care for the flavor of coconut why can't I just swish melted butter around my mouth?

Spit.

Oops, I just remembered you can't spit it down the drain because coconut oil will clog it right up. You have to spit in a trash can. Oh well, something to try for tomorrow.

So the rules for oil pulling as I understand them are:

1. Take 2 tsp (more or less) of coconut oil and let it melt in your mouth. Ed. note: This is where I really wanted to gag. 2 tsp was too much for me so I spit a lot out. Then I felt like I didn't have enough. So tomorrow I will try for 1 tsp. I also had to work very hard to not spit it out the whole time. Or swallow it.

2. Swish around good and strong for 20 minutes. Ed. note: I did this while taking a shower thinking it would keep my mind off things. It did, kinda, but I still had 8 minutes of swishing to go when I got out.

3. Spit in trash can. Ed note: Remember this for tomorrow!

4. Instantly go eat something to get the taste of coconut out of your mouth. Ed note: This might just be me.

I will keep you posted and look around to see if you can do this with other, less nauseating, less artery clogging oils. I will also keep you posted to see if my teeth seem stronger and whiter (reported perks). One immediate benefit I noticed is that my usually chapped-like-I spent-a-day-on-the Alps-lips do feel very soft for once in my life.