Reducing Toxic Load: Fluoride Toothpaste

Has it ever concerned you that there's a poison control warning on toothpaste?

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

If I have a New Year’s Resolution this year, it is reducing my toxic load.

I’m not someone who typically sets a New Year’s Resolution. I prefer small goals, since I have no idea how my health will be from week to week. Instead, I try to do a little bit each day to feel more connected to my body, using my wellness toolkit. In this way, I can feel some measure of success despite not achieving what has been my big multi-year goal of being able to use my arms again.

However, I can see a clear correlation between toxicity and my health—and meeting the goal of reducing toxic load in all areas of my life will some require bigger changes than my small daily ones. So, why not make it a New Year’s Resolution?

Taking a break from virology this week, I originally intended to lay down a big post reviewing various sources of toxicity. However, just starting with one as simple as switching toothpaste, I quickly saw there was a lot more to cover than I expected. Instead, I think I will turn this into a series of articles and give each one it’s fair amount of investigation.

Laying the groundwork for talking about toxins—this is the definition I have in mind:

“toxin, any substance poisonous to an organism.”

Britanica.com

One more important introductory note when it comes to toxicity:

In determining “safety” standards for products, studies have been conducted to identify thresholds of acute toxicity: will it cause severe illness or death? However, not enough has been done to study the effects of chronic or long-term exposure to toxins, as we will see.

Switching Toothpaste

After my church mission I found myself in the uncomfortable transition of having to figure out a lot of adult things for myself. As a result, I didn’t go to the dentist for about 7 years.

When I did finally set up my first dental appointment, they found only a few minor cavities. I’ve been complimented by dentists as a good tooth-brusher, and I’ll take that pat on the back. I really do care about taking care of my body.

Lately, due to my disability, it has been hard to do routine dental exams. Just before COVID was my last appointment.

Around that time, I decided to switch to a more “advanced” toothpaste to make up for not going to the dentist. This is possible too much information, but my saliva started getting really thick. It was disgusting. I couldn’t figure out why it was happening. I felt essentially like a hagfish, but was helpless to do anything about it.

I soaked my toothbrush overnight once every week or two to make sure the bristles stayed soft. Whether from the toothpaste or my thick saliva, my “soft” rated bristles were regularly becoming “medium” to “stiff” bristles, roughing up my gums sometimes.

Finally, a month or so ago, I switched to a different toothpaste. Since I’m a doTERRA member, I get occasional free products and I decided to try their toothpaste. Strangely enough, my saliva became watery after the switch. It was like my mouth craved the simpler toothpaste.

I started thinking about mucous and how it’s meant to trap toxic particles and remove them from the body. Could my body be telling me something about my “advanced” toothpaste? I began looking at the ingredients and warnings on the back of the tube.

Ingredients

Fluoride stains teeth? I didn't know it, but apparently it's true. And to combat that, they’ve added chemicals and abrasives.

Although I haven’t studied this entire list of ingredients, I’ve underlined ones that are already red flags for me.

PEG-12, according to Google’s AI assistant, is used to deliver medication. It’s also apparently used to preserve the painted colors on ancient artifacts (and teeth?).

I recognize PEGs from looking at the ingredients in the COVID vaccine. This may mean any ingredients in toothpaste are getting easier access to the bloodstream.

Titanium dioxide is a white metal powder used in cosmetics and food products to enhance their color—you’ll see it in your instant mac-n-cheese (that’s how they achieve that bright orange sauce). It is a metal that our bodies do not need, and is a possible toxin.

Many of these hazards correlate to inhalation, which would not occur in toothpaste. The AI says outright “Ingestion: Not harmful,” however, according to Canada’s CCOHS website “Effects of Long-Term (Chronic) Exposure: Conclusions cannot be drawn from the limited studies available.” In other words “we haven’t done enough studies” is a more accurate answer. However, it is a possible neurotoxin, may cause oxidative stress, and can contain other toxic metal contaminants.

Zinc oxide is a primary ingredient in sunscreen. More on that in another post.

Sodium lauryl sulfate is used in shampoos and soaps to enhance lather. This is its role in toothpaste as well. Detergents like this strip skin of their natural oils, interfering with another of the body's self-protecting mechanisms. It can cause irritation if it remains on the skin. Is this an issue in the mouth? I’m not sure, but it’s recommended to rinse and spit out toothpaste.

I took to the internet for some of the other ingredients:

• Pentasodium Triphosphate: a salt powder for removing stains. It’s also a chelator, reducing tartar & plaque.

• Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP): a synthetic polymer meant to aid in whitening by prolonging the time that active ingredients stay in the mouth.

• Trisodium Phosphate: a chemical used as a food additive, stain remover, and degreaser. In toothpaste it preserves the pH level of the product. See also this article addressing concerns about increased phosphate levels in the body.

• Phosphoric acid: a chemical meant to adjust the pH level of toothpaste. Ironically, it’s also an ingredient found in soft drinks which weakens your enamel.

• Xanthan gum: a food additive that is used as a thickener and stabilizer. I suppose this could also thicken saliva…?

Warning Labels

I also found this concerning warning…

What is the reason people with teeth sensitivity should not use this more than 4 weeks? Especially since it says “builds increasing protection against painful sensitivity of the teeth…”? Should anyone be using this for more than 4 weeks?

However, there are additional warnings:

Most of us know not to swallow toothpaste, but we’re told that “a little bit isn’t going to hurt you.” In most other circumstances that statement is a red flag. Smoking, drinking, and other slow poisons are normalized this way. “Poison Control” should be a clear red flag in and of itself.

Fluoride

A note on fluoride: It is not an essential mineral. It causes neurotoxicity in high levels.

“Fluoride seems to fit in with lead, mercury, and other poisons that cause chemical brain drain,” Grandjean says. “The effect of each toxicant may seem small, but the combined damage on a population scale can be serious, especially because the brain power of the next generation is crucial to all of us.”

Impact of fluoride on neurological development in children, Harvard School of Public Health

In the United States, Canada, and possibly other countries, water is also fluoridated to prevent cavities. This article on the NIH website indicates that we know the threshold for fluoride toxicity, but more research is needed to determine the effects of chronic exposure:

“The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends adding fluoride to water at a ratio of 0.7 parts per million, or 0.7 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The maximum amount of fluoride that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will allow in public water systems is 4.0 mg/L. A dose of sodium fluoride that is between 40–80 mg/kg* can produce lethal toxicity in humans. Due to the wide range of fluoride dosing, humans may be exposed to fluoride without acute effects, and determining the potential neurotoxic effects of chronic exposure has begun to take the forefront of fluoride-based research.”

Emphasis added, *1 L of water=1 kg

Additional information on possible harmful effects of water fluoridation can be found at the Fluoride Action Network website.

I won’t get into the psychology of having to ask the dentist every time a symptom occurs in your mouth.

It’s important to consult knowledgeable sources, but it’s incredibly important to learn to discern for yourself whether or not something is safe. Dentists recommend toothpaste. They are incentivized to do so. These products are considered “safe.” But, again, “safe” is being measured against acute signs and symptoms.

This is just one example why we should really look at what products we’re consuming (yes, there is a pun here).

Additional Possibilities for Reducing Toxicity

Here are the doTERRA ingredients for comparison:

I did note that xylitol (the substitute for fluoride) has some side effects and should also not be left in the mouth without rinsing. It’s also poisonous for dogs.

I may review all of these ingredients later, but I'm happy for now knowing my body prefers this. It has half the number of ingredients. It feels like a step in the right direction.

At some point I may just change over to straight baking soda, which I understands performs all the essential tasks of toothpaste: abrasion (therefore also whitening) and freshening breath. One, simple ingredient.

For the Future

One of my next goals is to get off of shampoo. I have already tried being selective about brands, preferring formulas without sodium lauryl or sodium laureth sulfate. However, I just watched a video with tips on getting off shampoo and recovering from the sebum overproduction cycle.

Other topics to potentially tackle:

• Sunscreen

• Makeup

• Cleaning products

• Vitamins

And besides physical/chemical toxins, I want to look at the whole human being. We also fight mental, emotional, and spiritual toxins on a daily basis that also contribute to our overall health. Some examples of topics to explore might include:

• Addictive behaviors

• Information overload

• Entertainment

• Advertising

An Update on Food and Metals

It’s really hard to change lifestyle. I’m a person who likes variety, but there’s just not enough variation in oatmeal as far as texture. I tried a few variations:

• Adding fruit, nuts, yogurt, and/or peanut butter

• Overnight oats instead of boiled

I liked overnight oats the best as far as texture. In this variation, I added 3 tablespoons of peach yogurt and 1/3 cup of milk to 1/3 cup of quick oats, along with a drizzle of honey. These soaked in a container overnight in the fridge and had a nice chewy, moist texture.

But I really missed cereal. I did some research online to find a grocery store cereal that contained the least offensive ingredients I could find. A handful of Great Value cereals have no artificial colors or flavors, but finding a non-GMO was tough. I settled on the