Abstract
Before modern day toothpaste people tried several different things to clean their teeth such as using eggshells, ash, ground oyster shells and salt. When an American dentist Peabody added soap to his toothpaste things started to change, but did they change for the better? Modern toothpaste includes all kinds of chemicals from natural ingredients to synthetically made ingredients. These ingredients are added to help with oral health. At least that’s what it’s supposed to be! However, some of the ingredients may do some harm to our well-being and to our environment. For this social action project, I discuss some effects of toothpaste ingredients on personal health as well as the environment. I also conducted an experiment to test teeth whitening claims and I checked to see if there are controversial microbeads in some toothpaste brands. My proposed action is to inform people of what is in toothpaste so they can make an informed decision and I suggest healthier alternatives such as homemade toothpastes with healthier ingredients.
Highlights
With so many different types of toothpaste, there are many ingredients put together in different combinations
Health Canada has not banned triclosan, though it does state that this substance is harmful to the environment and suggests ways for us to limit our exposure to triclosan (“Government of Canada: Triclosan”, 2019)
The purpose of this experiment was to test the claims of guaranteed whiteness in toothpaste brands and to see if microbeads were still present in Crest 3D White toothpaste
Summary
With so many different types of toothpaste, there are many ingredients put together in different combinations. Triclosan “does not provide any additional health benefits to the consumer, but it does pose risks to human health, most of which are understudied (“Beyond Pesticides, Triclosan: Heath Effects”, 2019) Despite this claim, Health Canada has not banned triclosan, though it does state that this substance is harmful to the environment and suggests ways for us to limit our exposure to triclosan (“Government of Canada: Triclosan”, 2019). Health Canada has not banned triclosan, though it does state that this substance is harmful to the environment and suggests ways for us to limit our exposure to triclosan (“Government of Canada: Triclosan”, 2019) The purpose of this experiment was to test the claims of guaranteed whiteness in toothpaste brands and to see if microbeads were still present in Crest 3D White toothpaste. It was predicted that Crest 3D White would still contain microbeads or some abrasive material as a result of the gritty feel
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