This is a little story about my affairs with fluoride-free toothpaste – while it seemed like a great idea, there were a few caveats that I’ve learnt over the last year or so, and you may want to contemplate them too before switching over…
Switching to an ‘au naturel’ lifestyle may seem a little daunting at first, but once you get into finding alternatives in the realms of beauty, food, and fashion, routines usually fall into place. Researching products before purchase has become a key part of being a conscious consumer, but I unfortunately did fall into a few traps when trying to switch to a fluoride-free toothpaste.
You may firstly be wondering why fluoride is something to be moving away from. According to the British Dental Foundation, fluoride is a mineral that can be found in drinking water and foods, as well as toothpaste. In regards to dental health, fluoride can greatly help by strengthening tooth enamel as well as reducing the amount of acid produced by bacteria.
When sitting down to do research on the subject, I actually found it hard to find an unbiased factual account of fluoride’s general affects on the human body, other than the protection of teeth, or a number of claims that it affects the pineal gland in the brain and can lead to strange developments in the body. While I do not endorse either opinion on here, my main goal in life is to strike a happy balance between natural products and my health and wellbeing – and chemical-bound toothpaste just doesn’t quite cut it for me.
However, after now brushing without fluoridated toothpaste for a good while, I can say a few things – firstly, a lot of fluoride-free brands are not vegetarian or vegan. My first tube of Aloe Dent Toothpaste actually contained shellfish, something I was shocked to find out when nearing the end of the tube. Considering a lot of the conscious consumer market do reduce the amount of meat in their diet (whether it be for sustainability, cruelty, or health), it does seem a little nonsensical to keep this ingredient in the formula. Thankfully, Aloe Dent’s Whitening Fluoride-Free Toothpaste doesn’t contain shellfish, which is something I have now switched to, but it wasn’t a nice experience to start with.
Second, is the plain fact that no matter how you change your toothpaste, you will still be exposed to fluoride in one way or another. Here in the UK, it is artificially added to drinking water in the name of dental health. It’s a strange practice, as this is not a worldwide phenomenon – in fact, many European countries do not artificially fluoridate their water supplies, and show no real difference in terms of their population’s dental health. On top of this, many foods and drinks also have it added, meaning you will never truly eradicate it from your diet.
Third is the pure and simple fact that sometimes, fluoridated toothpaste can actually be a medicine. Before switching to fluoride-free toothpaste, my dentist actually prescribed me a higher dosage of fluoridated toothpaste from my usual shop-bought paste to help prevent cavities from increasing in size between my teeth. I’m all for a natural lifestyle, but to ignore the personalised advice of a medical professional seems pretty darn risky, and I in no way endorse it. Please make sure you talk to your dentist about the subject or at least find out whether your teeth can cope without fluoridated toothpaste.
Now, if you’ve come out of the other end of all my recommendations still wanting to hop on the fluoride-free train, you may want to take your time considering the alternatives available. I would strongly suggest starting off by changing to a mint-flavoured paste without fluoride, so you can ease into the more alternative methods – from Lush’s toothy tabs, to propolis or fennel flavoured pastes, right down to pure bicarbonate of soda, there’s a lot out there, but they do seem to require a minty-fresh sacrifice on your part!
Hi Besma,
Great article, thank you! 🙂 My own biggest fight at the moment is against plastic. I checked the one you suggested, and unfortunately, it comes in a tube. Aluminium isn’t better since you can’t recycle with all the toothpaste left when finished.
I find it interesting that we all have our fights and no product answers all our concerns (fluoride, plastic-free, bamboo but coming from the other part of the world…).
Let’s keep explore and share our best findings!
Hi Pierre, thanks for the comment! Since writing this post, I’ve tried a few zero-waste options – my favourite being Georganics. You can read more about it in my post about zero waste bathroom swaps here: https://www.curiouslyconscious.com/2019/05/12-zero-waste-bathroom-swaps.html/
B x
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly
donate to this fantastic blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS
feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this website with my Facebook
group. Talk soon!
Hi s3, I do indeed have a donate button – if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee (or donate £3) you can do so on my Ko-Fi page! Thanks x
Scottish waters are not fluoridated. Not sure where in UK you are? Where did you find this information, freedom of information request can confirm Scottish waters don’t add Fluride
Hi Andrew, thanks for letting me know! I live in South England and mainly reside in London – the water is naturally hard around here, and has varying degrees of fluoridation and naturally occurring fluoride too. It’s definitely worth checking with your local water provider if you’re worried about fluoride in your water supply. x
Thanks for a speedy reply! Yup I have already checked and we do not add any fluoride to Scottish waters! We have lovely soft clear water up here! It’s the best in the world! ❤️ I’m switching to fluoride free toothpaste too x
I’ve recently made the switch to being vegan and using only natural products for everything in my life. Your information that fluoride free toothpaste could be the answer to finding a natural and vegan-friendly toothpaste was really exciting. My husband and I will have to start looking for a fluoride free toothpaste for our daily ablutions.
Hi Sarah, thanks for the lovely comment! I hope you’re enjoying the new lifestyle changes and let me know if you’d like any recommendations.
x
A little confused about this . So you use both natural and the dentist prescribed one with extra fluroride? Did he prescibe you this because the non fluride toothpaste made cavities worse. Just found your lovely website when looking up this subject
Hi Lorr, to clear up the timeline a little: before trying to move away from fluoride, my dentist prescribed me a toothpaste with a higher fluoride content to help prevent cavities, with the advice not to eat so much sugar. When I changed my diet, and my toothpaste to a natural one, I’ve not had an issue at the dentist – but I don’t think there’s much point making the change, considering fluoride is in our water.
I hope that helps!
B x
oh I see . thanks I understand now
I also prefer non fluride toothpaste for me and my daughter
xx
A really great post and account of the pros and cons, I’ve been doing a lot of research lately as well. I found some activated Charcoal on Atlist which I might try out – have you had any experience with it?
Hi Cheryl, great question! I’m not a fan of activated charcoal, but I do like Georganics Clay Toothpaste – you can read my review here: https://www.curiouslyconscious.com/2018/04/zero-waste-plastic-free-bathroom-swaps.html/
B x