Don’t use this toothpaste, ever!

A dentist told me to never use this toothpaste because it has triclosan. Sure enough, I had Colgate Total in my purse and triclosan is listed as the active ingredient. Triclosan is a disinfectant and is common in liquid hand-sanitizing soaps, yet it’s also been linked to cancers, antibiotic resistance and metabolic disruption. The Mayo clinic is against it and Governor Mark Dayton recently signed a bill banning triclosan-containing products in Minnesota to take effect in three years (4). I’m shocked it’s in a product that we put in our mouths. This quote is directly from Colgate’s website : “Colgate TotalR toothpaste is uniquely formulated with 0.3% of the antibacterial ingredient triclosan to fight harmful plaque germs, which are the cause of most common dental problems” (1).

The FDA takes a long time to finally require that dangerous products or substances be banned. By the time the FDA makes their final decision, there are typically numerous deaths. The FDA needs to revamp their protocol, and only allow products to market that are unquestionably safe, not releasing questionable products to the public, and then pulling them off shelves after confirming they’re hazardous; that’s just backwards. This is directly from FDA’s site: “Triclosan is not currently known to be hazardous to humans. But several scientific studies have come out since the last time FDA reviewed this ingredient that merit further review” (2).

Wikipedia says this on their site about triclosan: “Its efficacy as an antimicrobial agent and the risk of antibacterial resistance remains controversial. Additional research seeks to understand its potential effects on organism and environmental health” (3). If you want a clean mouth, use a soft toothbrush with decent helping of mint-flavored toothpaste that doesn’t contain triclosan, clear your gums and contacts of food with mint-flavored floss, and finish with a rinse of filtered water.

Sources:

1. Colgate’s website: http://www.colgatetotal.com/triclosan-faq?cid=ppc_gg_nb_stan_triclosan_exact
&kw=triclosan
2. FDA’s web link: http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm205999.htm
3. Wikipedia’s link on triclosan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triclosan
4. CNN story on triclosan: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/21/health/triclosan-ban-antibacterial/