This investigation focuses on toothpaste and mouthwash that are sold to consumers as “natural” yet may contain unnatural, synthetic, and/or artificial ingredients.
The products under investigation include the following:
- Tea Tree Therapy Toothpaste
- Weleda Children's Tooth Gel
- Earth's Best Toothpaste, apple and pear flavors
- JASON Nutrismile All-Natural Children's Toothpaste
- Nature's Gate Cherry Gel for Kids Toothpaste
- Kiss My Face Triple Action Toothpaste
- Honest Co. Mouthwash
Because of the suspicion that chemical, synthetic, or non-natural ingredients cause harm, many people are willing to pay more for products that are advertised as being “natural” or “all natural”. This is particularly important with products that may be absorbed by body tissues, such as soaps or creams used on the skin, or that are used inside the mouth, such as toothpaste and mouthwash.
In the early 1800s, ingredients such as chalk, salt, and soap were combined and sold as remedies to prevent tooth decay. According to an online article, these ingredients were actually good for your teeth: chalk contained calcium, salt has trace minerals, and soap helps kill bacteria. Modern toothpastes have grown considerably more complicated.
According to the American Dental Association, toothpaste must contain fluoride and antibacterial ingredients. Yet some consider fluoride to be harmful. Other ingredients found in most toothpastes today include sodium lauryl sulfate, GMO soy lethicin, Xylitol made from GMO corn, and glycerine.
Glycerine may be particularly problematic. It’s used to give toothpaste its pasty feel, but one site says that “it coats your teeth like plastic wrap blocking your teeth from re-mineralizing or maintaining the proper balance of nutrients.”
Dr. Gerard F. Judd, a chemist and researcher, claims that acids with the highly positive hydrogen ion pull out of the teeth the highly negative phosphate ion—and along with it, the enamel. For this reason, he says that “elements of tooth enamel must be replaced daily to prevent erosion”. According to him, glycerine on the teeth can prevent proper re-mineralization. His book, Good Teeth, Birth to Death, claims that if you use toothpaste with glycerine, it can “require 20 rinses to get it off”.
Glycerine can be either natural or synthetic, but even “natural” glycerine can come from genetically-modified (GMO) sources.
For all these reasons, some consumers want to avoid glycerine and other non-natural substances and are willing to buy “natural” toothpastes and mouthwashes at higher prices, thinking that they will not contain these substances.
Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer