Home | Preventative Dental | ...Best Fluoride Free Toothpaste |

What is the Best Fluoride Free Toothpaste?

Ever since I was a child I always wondered why toothpaste had a warning label on to call Poison Control in the event the paste was swallowed. If a small amount of ingested fluoride could necessitate calling Poison Control, then why is it added in water that you can drink in uncontrolled amounts all your life. Surely, there should be some connection between these two statements about a known poison?

Marketing a kids toothpaste with bubble gum flavoring and then adding enough fluoride to seriously harm or even kill a child if they ate the whole tube has to be wrong. How did that ever come to pass?


A 1991 report from the Akron (Ohio) Regional Poison Center states, "Death has been reported following ingestion of 16 mg/kg of fluoride." That means that one-hundredth of an ounce of fluoride could kill a 10-pound child and one-tenth of an ounce could kill a 100-pound adult. The report continues, "Fluoride toothpaste contains up to 1 mg/gram [1 milligram per gram] of fluoride." This means that a family-sized tube of toothpaste contains 199 milligrams of fluoride, more than enough to kill a 25-pound child. For more on this subject, click on this link to Warren Mitchell D.D.S's web site.

A small child will swallow on average between 25 to 33% of the toothpaste they put on their toothbrush. Flavoured toothpaste, such as the bubble gum, or grape, should carry a double health warning. It's just too tempting for a child to lick the brush or swallow extra toothpaste.

Millions of people brush and floss regularly with fluoride as the active ingredient and suffer from dental decay and cavity after cavity, which eventually progress into crowns and root canals, and finally once the root canal has become fractured or infected, the inevitable implant.
Dentist first began to study fluoride in 1850, and the U.S. National Institute of Health published several studies in the 1930's and 1940's showing that fluoride added to drinking water could reduce cavities. Fluoride was first added to toothpaste in 1914.

However, it was not until much later, that dentists discovered that the main cause of tooth decay is an infectious disease, caused by bacteria living within dental plaque. The main bacteria - Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus produce acids when carbohydrates, especially sugar, are consumed. This acid eventually, over time, eats into the tooth enamel and dissolves it, in a process known as demineralization of the enamel. Fluoride interferes with the remineralization process.

Tooth decay can be stopped by adding microbial agents to combat the Streptococcus Mutans and Lactobacillus bacteria, and encouraging good saliva flow to remineralize the enamel. Minerals present in your saliva are then dissolved to produce the mineral ions needed to harden and strengthen the lattice structure of the enamel.

What are some good toothpastes that are fluoride and poison free, encourage remineralization of the enamel, and have strong anti-microbial agents that will help kill off the harmful tooth bacteria Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus?

First of all let's look at the common ingredients in most commercial toothpastes.

Fluoride - know poison, used to poison rats, much more toxic than lead. Like lead in minute doses, fluoride accumulates in the body and can be damaging to brain/mind development of children, producing abnormal behavior in animals and reducing IQ in humans. Dental fluorosis is often the first visible sign of fluoride poisoning. Excessive use of fluoride also increases the risk of osteoporosis and can damage the nervous system.

Triclosan - the EPA registers it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. Triclosan is a chlorophenol - a class of chemicals suspected of carcinogenic properties in humans. When exposed to Triclosan it can cause skin irritation and can interfere temporarily with the nerve endings. When consumed, it can be stored in body fat where it can rise to toxicity levels providing a wide range of serious it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidney and lungs and can cause paralysis, sterility, suppression of immune function, brain hemorrhages, decreased fertility and sexual function, heart problems, and coma. (Debra Lynn Dadd. 1990. Non-Toxic Natural and Earthwise. Jeremy P. Tarcher).
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a common foaming soap used in many toothpastes, but more commonly used to scrub garage floors. A study from 1983 published in the Journal of the American College of Toxicology, showed that:

“In absorption, metabolism and excretion studies sodium lauryl sulfate had a degenerative effect on the cell membranes because of its protein denaturing properties. High levels of skin penetration may occur at even low use concentration.”

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is so harsh has been proven to create microscopic damage to the oral tissue which lines the inside of your mouth, which then leads to canker sores. Other studies show that the chemical is easily absorbed by the skin, and very easily absorbed through the mouth as you brush your teeth. It is found at residual levels stored in major organs such as the brain, liver, lungs and heart.

Glycerin - is a common filler used in toothpastes to provide the paste texture. Unfortunately it coats the tooth with a sticky film - you can feel it after you brush your teeth. This layer is extremely hard to wash off, and helps prevent the remineralization of the enamel through the saliva. It is not however toxic.

Most of the commercial brands of toothpastes also use a sweeting such as sodium saccharin are added for taste. Other flavors are usually strong essential oils such as menthol.

Toothpaste Reviews: