Cleure Founder Warns of Toothpaste Ingredients

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Cleure Founder Warns of Toothpaste Ingredients


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2011


Cleure Founder Warns About Toothpaste Ingredients

Cleure sensitive skin care products founder, Dr. Flora Parsa Stay, is a wellness leader, author and university professor.  She warns that your toothpaste may contain ingredients that may not be totally safe for you or your family.  Toothpaste is something that we all own; even babies that have their first teeth need to get their teeth brushed on a daily basis. Regrettably, the majority of us brush our teeth without ever giving a thought about what is in the toothpaste that we use in our mouth two or three times each day. Toothpastes -- even so called organic toothpastes -- can contain ingredients that might have negative health effects, and have no benefit for our teeth.

This problem is especially true for children under the age of 4, although not limited to them, because the majority of children cannot spit at a young age. This implies that what goes in their mouth gets swallowed. Fluoride, specifically, can be lethal when swallowed in large quantities. Of course, fluoride is included in nearly every toothpaste on the market – again, even in some natural toothpaste brands and in children’s toothpaste.

In fact, many toothpastes carry warnings on them in the event of overdose, and if this was not bad enough, these same toothpastes made for babies and children are specifically designed to taste good to motivate children to use them more frequently -- but also put them at risk of being poisoned, as most families do not treat them as a substance to be put up out of reach.

It is crucial, whether you use natural toothpaste or just any brand on the shelf, that you pay careful attention to the ingredients in your toothpaste. Fluoride is only one substance you need to be worried about in your toothpaste; there is a wide variety of other substances, in both mainstream toothpaste and many natural toothpaste, that need to be avoided.

Saccharin is one of the most well-known additives. It is utilized to sweeten toothpastes, especially for children, to make them more palatable, but has long been a questionable substance in our food supply. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is an additional ingredient that is commonly seen in a large range of products in the personal care section of your store. It is a foaming agent that makes people think that they or their teeth are becoming cleaner, but has little other purpose being in these products. This industrial detergent is suspected of being one of the main causes of canker sores, can cause dry mouth, and is a source of allergies for an increasing amount of people.

Chlorine dioxide and Sodium hydroxide are also substances that you may discover in your toothpaste. Chlorine dioxide is industrial bleach, while Sodium hydroxide is lye that is utilized in drain cleaners and industrial detergents. These are not exactly the type of ingredients that should be used in toothpaste or that you want to be putting in your mouth -- and yet many of the mainstream brands of toothpaste have these substances in them. Even though added in very small quantities, used on a regular basis, it might have adverse health effects.

Natural toothpaste brands may not include harsh chemicals, but this does not necessarily make them good for you to use. Mint oil is a main ingredient in natural toothpaste, and includes salicylate, that an increasing number of people are developing allergies to and several more may have adverse reactions to. Salicylates are in a large range of products, like mainstream and natural toothpaste, aspirin, skin care products, and a wide range of soaps and shampoos.

Herbal extracts might seem like wonderful things to use on your teeth, and natural toothpaste-makers use this to their advantage in order to sell their products, but just because it says natural or looks natural does not necessarily imply that you are buying a product that will be good for you. Herbs can result in side effects as well as drug interactions and be the cause of allergies, just like any other product can -- but people just assume that they are safe simply because they are herbs and considered natural. The herbal extracts that are in your personal care products should not be taken lightly, and should be carefully considered when you buy products of these types.

More importantly, you should think about finding natural toothpaste that is salicylate and fluoride-free and which does not include artificial sweeteners or other artificial chemicals. Baking soda toothpaste can do the same job of cleaning your teeth, does a swell job of removing stains, and will not cause any reactions to your skin or harm your teeth. It is safe for your children to use and is non-abrasive, so it will not damage the enamel of your teeth. Xylitol is a natural sweetener and is the latest discovery in relation to tooth decay prevention. As additional studies are conducted, it can very well replace fluoride in toothpaste. It is even safe enough to swallow.