Detoxification

Toothpaste: hazardous to dental and bodily health?

Chemical ingredients which could harm your teeth, gums, or body

Standard or conventional toothpastes though claimed to be THE products to use for best care of your teeth, actually have numerous drawbacks - similar to other synthetic blessings showered upon humanity, many of which have turned out to be harmful to health and damaging to the environment.

Here is a (not necessarily complete) list, complemented by two powerful testimonials illustrating the potentially dramatic benefits to teeth and gums gained from switching from conventional chemical-laced toothpaste to an approach using natural and non-toxic "biocompatible" ingredients for dental cleaning.

Ingredients found in various conventional toothpastes which might damage your health

Toxins such as fluoride, Triclosan etc.

Triclosan. Conventional toothpastes, among other toxins, can contain Triclosan, a chemical germ killer/antibacterial (also found in mouthwashes, deodorants, soaps, clothing. pesticides etc. - as well as in the urine of people who use such products).

Triclosan belongs to a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans (even the US EPA is currently [2015] reevaluating the risks posed by triclosan) - an October 2015 search of the PubMed database at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ (which only publishes scientifically validated research) for the terms "triclosan cancer" yielded 57 studies investigating or touching upon a possible connection[8] (this number has risen to 189 in 2024).

Stored in bodily fat, it can suppress immune function and accumulate to toxic levels with resultant liver, kidney and lung damage. Triclosan is frequently contaminated with toxic dioxins and is generally an environmental pollutant.

Polyethylene glycols (PEG, added as a dispersant and to bind water) make the skin more pervious to noxious substances possibly containing bromine, iodine or chlorine, and are considered allergenic and/or potentially cancerogenic.

Fluoride, a highly toxic chemical, rather than helping teeth, seems to actually damage teeth by making them too hard and thus brittle. Also be aware that fluoride in its chemical form as used in water fluoridation is seriously implicated in cancer causation and can actually "ruin teeth".[1]

Fluoridated toothpaste damages gums. At the concentrations used in commercial fluoridated toothpaste (1,000 ppm), fluoride causes gum damage by poisoning enzyme activity and slowing down the gums' self-repair mechanisms.

By brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste, you gums will suffer damage (according to Dr. John Yiamouyiannis, an authority on fluoride's biological effects, and corroborated by a number of research studies reporting increased gingivitis and gum inflammation caused by fluoridated water consumption or other fluoride sources).[2]

According to scientific research conducted by the pharmaceutical company Sepracor (now Sunovion Pharmaceuticals) in 1996, topical fluoride application (fluoridated toothpaste, mouthwashes etc.) may cause or exacerbate periodontal bone loss by activating "G proteins" and thus promoting gingivitis, chronic, destructive periodontitis, and even cancer of the oral cavity (involving "mutated" G proteins being activated by fluoride).

According to J. Lee et al. (published in Toxicology in January 2008, pp. 340–347), sodium fluoride is cytotoxic (harms/kills living cells) and produces an inflammatory response.

People with implants (not recommended, see - upcoming - "Potential risks of dental implant surgery") made of titanium have yet another problem with fluoridated toothpaste: tests using artificial saliva made of sodium chloride and oxalic acid showed a strong increase in titanium release when fluoride was added to the saliva solution[6], i.e. brushing with fluoridated toothpaste (in fact using any fluoridated product) leads to high(er) release and hence absorption of titanium (TI can trigger many ailments, see case histories on the above page).

Additionally, German toxicity expert Prof. Max Daunderer warns that amalgam from dental fillings is corroded by fluorine (including from fluoridated toothpaste and fluoridated salt). According to Daunderer, fluoride is strictly forbidden for mercury amalgam carriers since fluoride produces mercury(II) fluoride which is able to penetrate into the brain and cause brain damage.

To help the body detoxify fluoride, increasing iodine levels has been found very helpful.

If you have ingested a lot of toxic fluoride (and there are, in addition to fluoridated dental "care" products, many other sources such as fluoridated water and any products grown or made with it, salt, milk, etc.[4], you may wish to inform yourself about increasing your intake of iodine. Higher iodine levels in the body can help the system to excrete toxic halogens such as fluoride and bromine in the urine (this has been systematically measured and verified).

If you use seaweed as your iodine source (generally, the use of iodised salt will not raise an iodine-deficient body's levels to a sufficient degree), you simultaneously ingest one of the richest sources of all known minerals and trace elements.

Caveat: Be aware that iodine supplementation can be a two-edged sword. While it has tremendously benefited the health of a number of individuals, others (clearly a minority - but nevertheless) apparently have been seriously damaged. So inform yourself thoroughly about the pros and cons before considering applying iodine DIY.

Surfactants

Surfactants (added as foaming agents). Studies have shown that toothpastes which produce a lot of lather due to the presence of the toxic chemical (detergent surfactant) sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS, aka sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS) are actually bad for the gums. The foaming property strongly swells up the gums, which would tend to promote periodontitis (receding gums). (Other sources speak of surfactant concentrations above two percent possibly damaging the gums.)

Alternative dentist Dr. Georg Schnitzer writes that surfactants also increase the permeability of the capillaries and thus are a frequent cause of bleeding gums. Hermann Lauffer, author of "Unsere Zähne Opfer der Zivilisation" (Our Teeth Victims of Civilisation) adds that the softening of the gums increases their propensity to infection.

It would be best to use toothpaste without any surfactants, such as salt-based toothpastes (translated by © Healing Cancer Naturally from German sources). Or probably better, use toothpaste alternatives.

Additionally, ionic surface-active compounds such as sodium lauryl sulfate can prevent xylitol from exerting its beneficial action against bacteria involved in tooth decay.

And finally, sodium lauryl sulfate was found to cause the recurrence of aphthous ulcers (canker sores)[5] and to diminish the perception of sweetness (for the latter see abstract under http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-1985-0289.ch002).

Toxic metals

According to Dr. Hulda Clark, toothpaste besides benzene pollution also contains tin and strontium. Compare (upcoming) "Dr. Hulda Clark's instructions for brushing teeth and natural mouth care". Even aluminium can be found in toothpaste.

Sorbitol

In spite of being cariogenic with prolonged use (according to research done by dentists at Hamburg university), sorbitol can be found as a sweetener in certain toothpastes.

Artificial sugars

What all such sugars apparently do is lower the pH of the dental plaque (more acidity = more damage to the tooth). If you find aspartame, be aware that it is toxic and has been connected to dozens of diseases incl. brain tumors.[3]

Dr. Joel Knapp DDS writes on the subject of chemicals found in many toothpastes, "I tell my patients, if you can't pronounce it, don't put it in your body. ... you'll sometimes see artificial sugars listed, too. These artificial sugars have been shown in some studies to cause changes in the tissue cells, and to slow down healing as much as sugar can and possibly more. We tell them to avoid toothpaste - to use baking soda, salt or just plain water."

Glycerin

According to Dr. Gerald F. Judd's research, it is very important to avoid all toothpastes containing glycerin since for teeth to be able to remineralize, the tooth surface needs to be clean and "accessible". This would be prevented, however, by glycerin which covers the surface with a sticky and hard-to-remove substance. (These findings are controversial, however; and likely don't stand up to closer scrutiny.)

Why toxins in toothpaste are particularly dangerous to health

It is frequently advised to administer certain supplements or medications (methylcobalamin / B12, homeopathic remedies etc.) by placing them under the tongue or slowly dissolving them in the mouth. This is because the oral cavity and mucosa are richly provided with lymphatic vessels (such as the lingual tonsils), so the active ingredients of the medicinal substances are directly absorbed into the circulation, bypassing both the intestinal tract and the liver.

While this effect is desirable with remedies, the same "near-instant absorption" mechanism works against us when we take toxic substances into the mouth, and is particularly dangerous with children who tend to swallow some of the toothpaste during brushing.

Footnotes

1 Compare this (upcoming) testimonial showing how simple brushing with salt water healed cavities that had formed while religiously using fluoride toothpaste and (upcoming) A personal abscess/swollen gum story (1): rotten molar & fluoride.
2 For important background on fluoride, see eg On water and toothpaste fluoridation: "Fluoride ruins teeth".
3 Compare Causes of cancer: aspartame.
4 See the list on this page showing the variety of products which can contain fluoride, at least when you live in a country such as the US which allows fluoridation of the water supply.
5 Compare (upcoming)"Canker sores (aphthous ulcers or stomatitis): possible causes, natural and home remedies."
6 Compare the 2013 study "The effect of fluoride ions on the corrosion behaviour of Ti metal, and Ti6-Al-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V alloys in artificial saliva" at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24169708 .
7 Compare (upcoming) Toothpaste abrasiveness index.
8 See e.g. "Growth and migration of LNCaP prostate cancer cells are promoted by triclosan and benzophenone-1 via an androgen receptor signaling pathway" at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25682003 .

"Anti-toothpaste" testimonials

Dramatic dental healing benefits gained from using natural, non-toxic or "biocompatible" cleaning agents & antimicrobials

The presence of the above-described tooth and gum toxins (fluoride, surfactants etc.) in conventional toothpaste may explain dramatic "miracle" gum healing testimonials (each involving advanced periodontosis with loss of several teeth): all signs of chronic gum disease quickly and completely cleared up upon discontinuation of normal toothpaste and adoption of simple bar soap or herbal gum/tooth powders for dental cleaning. These testimonials include 20 years of periodontitis healed and the healing of beginning cavities by simple brushing with salt water while cavities had formed when religiously using conventional fluoride toothpaste.

Related section

Detoxification

... and for the best, easiest, and least expensive ways I know to heal cancer

after studying the subject for some twenty years, click here.