Fun Colorful Toothpaste – What’s in it?

When I walk passed the kids oral health aisle in stores, I’m amazed to see the colorful  & character-filled assortments of products. It looks more like a candy store to me. They are so fun to look at, bursting with all sorts of kids flavors, created with fun colors and textures. The marketing effort to appeal to both kids and parents are obvious. Kids pester the parents to purchase them. As for parents, the toothpastes are so much fun, their kids seems to love it so it makes it easier for the parents to get their kids to brush their teeth . It’s a win-win situation right?

Not once you find out what’s inside these conventional toothpastes. The toxic ingredients can be absorbed into your body through the lining of the mouth. 2-3 times daily does add up year-after-year via bioaccumulation. So for me? I’m not budging – my kids are not getting the fun watermelon red toothpaste.

Most kid’s toothpaste contains low concentration of fluoride. For young children, it’s important to teach them not to swallow it. If you want to read more about this topic, there is an article about the effects of swallowing fluoride toothpaste from Poison Control Center: https://www.poison.org/articles/2015-dec/toothpaste

There are pros and cons about fluoride. It is best for you to consult your kids dentist about fluoride products.  

But beyond flouride, there are other ingredients that you need to watch out for…

Artificial Sweetener & Flavor – Many of these products have added artificial sweetener like saccharine & aspartame. There are studies that show the possibility that the sweetener may linked to cancer. For “the possibility” I’m gonna go ahead and avoid that.

Colors & Dyes- Some studies indicate that Blue Dyes 1 & 2 may trigger behavioral, learning, allergic and health problems. The FDA has several reports on toxicity associated with some of the color dyes.

SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is the ingredient that forms bubbles & foams in personal care products such as shampoo, body wash, and toothpaste. Studies have shown that it may cause side effects such as mouth ulcers, canker sores, and allergic reactions.

Just be wise and be cautious of your choice.

They just needed to get used to not having as much foam in their mouths – other than that, they love the taste and they have no cavities!