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Microbeads are tiny plastic specs that bring color to your toothpaste. There is a new danger in some toothpaste formulas that contain these tiny plastics. Beware of microbeads in your toothpaste.
These tiny microbeads are included in your toothpaste “for decorative purposes.” They look like little blue dots in the toothpaste, and they can get embedded in your gums.
The plastic is polyethylene, and that is the word to look for when you check the ingredients on a box of toothpaste.
Why have you to be careful about microbeads?
There have been several articles posted online about this problem in recent months. Despite the fact that FDA has approved usage of these plastics in food items, many health experts have started raising concern over the use of these tiny plastic dots.
What did dental hygienist Trish Walraven say about microbeads in toothpaste?
It was dental hygienist Trish Walraven who raised this issue through her blog. On her blog, DentalBuzz.com, she wrote:
“I’m seeing these same bits of blue plastic stuck in my patients’ mouths almost every day. Around our teeth, we have these little channels in our gums, sort of like the cuticles around our fingernails. The gum channel is called a sulcus, and it’s where diseases like gingivitis get their start. A healthy sulcus is no deeper than about 3 millimeters, so when you have hundreds of pieces of plastic, even smaller than a millimeter, being scrubbed into your gums each day, many of them are getting trapped.”
With this blog, a lot of people started looking at this issue seriously.
Dr. Mark Burhenne, DDS on microbeads in your toothpaste
Another article was on askthedentist.com by Dr. Mark Burhenne, DDS. He writes that “these microbeads could cause a foreign body response A foreign body response can deepen the pocket and lead to a periodontal defect. It can involve swelling, bleeding, tenderness, and even eventual loss of the tooth.”
Dr. Burhenne also reminds us that the microbeads we spit out end up in the ocean and are likely to be ingested by fish. And like other plastic waste, this adds to the excess plastic polluting our rivers, lakes, and seas.
What are the major toothpaste brands that contain microbeads?
The major brand that includes polyethylene in their toothpaste is Crest, particularly in their “whitening” formulas. If you are using one of those and it has visible blue dots in the toothpaste, you may want to discard it and try another brand. Always read the ingredients on the box. Usually, the tubes themselves do not have all ingredients listed.
Below is a list of some major toothpaste brands that contain Microbeads. Beware of these toothpaste brands!
- Crest Pro Health
- Crest 3D White
- Crest Tartar Protection Whitening
- Crest Cavity Protection
- Crest Sensitivity
- Oral B Stages Kids
- Crest Baking Soda and Peroxide
- Crest Cavity Protection (Kids)
Many consumers have already contacted Proctor & Gamble, makers of Crest, to voice their dissatisfaction with the formulation. As a result, Crest has said that it will be phasing out polyethylene in most of its Crest formulas.
We hope this story will encourage consumers to check ingredient labels on all personal care items and to let companies know when they are concerned about a particular product.
UPDATE 2016-2017: The use of Microbeads in toothpaste and other cosmetic products
When oral health specialists and environmentalists raised this issue, Congress passed the famous Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015.
This legislation bans the use of Microbeads in toothpaste and other products. The companies using these plastics in their products have until July 2017 to make Microbeads-free products.
How to pick the best toothpaste?
It’s important that you pick the best toothpaste for your teeth for optimal dental health. Follow the tips below.
- Make sure that your toothpaste has an American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance. This seal means that your toothpaste is safe and package labeling is verified by the Association.
- Buy toothpaste that contains fluoride. It prevents dental cavities.
- Look for ingredients that are known to control tartar, such as pyrophosphate. It can stop the formation of new tartar although it won’t remove that’s already formed.
- Whitening toothpaste brands can’t whiten your teeth. They only remove stains on your teeth and therefore make your teeth look brighter than before. They don’t change your teeth color.
