Dental hygiene products that you and your children use every day may contain harmful chemicals and toxins that have been linked to a number of serious health risks, especially for young children.

BY Amy Anderson 3 July, 2007

Many name-brand toothpastes and mouthwashes contain potentially harmful ingredients, which are made up of very small molecules that may penetrate through the delicate skin membranes of your mouth.

The fastest way to get something into your bloodstream is via the skin tissue under your tongue and chemicals can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the dense network of blood vessels lining the mucous membrane of the mouth and build up in the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, and tissues.

A shocking example is that in most brands of toothpaste, there is enough fluoride in a 4 oz tube to kill a small child.  Another ingredient to watch out for is alcohol, which is commonly used in mouthwashes. One ounce of mouthwash can cause seizures and brain damage in toddlers, and 5 ounces can be fatal. Most brands are sold in quantities that can kill a 2-year old child if the entire bottle is drunk.

This is why toothpaste has an FDA required poison warning label warning to keep products out of the reach of children under 6 years of age. You may have to search to find the warning because the companies try to hide it under the ingredients list or on the box, which you throw away and don’t even notice.

typical mouth ulcer

Please find information below on the 5 hidden dangers in your toothpaste and information on a new toothpaste and mouthwash which are free from these dangerous chemical ingredients making them better for your overall health as well as being completely safe for infants and children.

Danger 1

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS): A harmful irritant
SLS is added to toothpastes because of its foaming properties. Toothpastes that foam give the impression that the toothpaste is working.
The journal of the American College of Toxicology reports that SLS can penetrate and be retained in the eye, brain, heart, and liver with potentially harmful long-term effects. SLS is believed to be carcinogenic. SLS is used in laboratories to purposely irritate the skin in order to test creams that heal the skin.

Danger 2

Triclosan: A pesticide
Triclosan is a chemical ingredient found in most toothpastes which is used for its antibacterial properties. Triclosan is a chlorophenol, which is a class of chemicals that is suspected of causing cancer in humans. Taken internally, even in small amounts, this family of chemicals can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, convulsions, coma, and death.

Danger 3

Propylene Glycol (also called Propanediol): brake fluid
This colourless liquid is the main ingredient in antifreeze, brake fluid, deicers, and laundry detergent, but is also used in most toothpastes and mouthwashes.
It is implicated in contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities. It can inhibit skin cell growth in human tests, can cause gastro-intestinal disturbances, nausea, headache and vomiting, central nervous system depression and can damage cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin and surface damage (according to the FDA Material Safety Data Sheet).

Danger 4

Sodium Fluoride: rat poison
Many people are probably aware that most toothpaste and many mouth rinses contain fluoride because that's what dentists have recommended for years to prevent cavities.
Surprisingly, fluoride has NEVER been approved by the FDA. Additionally, a 1990 study stated that fluoride has been shown to NOT reduce cavities and scientists are now linking fluoride to dental deformity, arthritis, allergic reactions and about 10,000 unnecessary deaths each year from cancer. (From “Fluoride an equivocal carcinogen. National Cancer Institute)
In children and youth, minimal ingestion of sodium fluoride causes salivation, nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, and diarrhea. Large doses of the carcinogen may cause paralysis, muscular weakness and convulsions, followed by respiratory and cardiac failure.

Danger 5

FD&C Blue Dye 1 & 2: coal tar
Recent studies indicate that FD & C Blue Dyes 1 & 2 can trigger a wide number of behavioral, learning, and health problems. FD&C colour dyes may also cause potentially severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, headaches, nausea, fatigue, nervousness, lack of concentration, and cancer.
Nowadays, coal tar dyes are synthetically engineered rather than extracted from actual coal tar, thereby greatly reducing the possibility of being contaminated with carcinogenic residuals from the coal itself. However, the dyes still contain carcinogenic properties. Over several decades of use, some of these synthetic dyes have come under greater scientific and government scrutiny due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic activity. Because of this, they are still referred to in the industry as “coal tar dyes,” according to the FDA.