WHILE people are free to use what they want, I believe it’s a good idea for everyone to know what’s in the products we’re using for our oral health. Sometimes despite what may seem to be scientifically contradictory, even dentists (including myself) and physicians  prefer and use many brand name toothpastes.  But please read the labels on your toothpaste and mouthwash, and see if any of the following ingredients appear.

Triclosan (contained in Colgate Total) is EPA-registered as a pesticide. This chlorophenol gets high marks as a risk to both humans and the environment.

It is in a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans, and is similar in structure to dioxin, whose toxic effects are measured in parts per trillion (1 drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools).

Triclosan is a hormone disrupter as well, and can lead to circulatory collapse, cold sweats, and convulsions. Because it is stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, which can lead to a number of problems, including brain hemorrhages, heart conditions, kidney damage, and paralysis.

Since the oral soft tissues readily absorb whatever is in contact with them (remember the hot pepper), building up triclosan residues in the body could be easily accomplished.

Propylene Glycol (PG) present in some toothpastes is a chemical that your Toyota recognizes. It is an antifreeze, and you probably know that  antifreeze (used in countries that experience winter) has killed many cats and dogs that have lapped it up.

PG is used as a wetting agent in toothpaste, but it is so readily absorbed into the skin that the EPA requires anyone working around it to wear goggles and protective clothing. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) warns against skin contact because PG has systemic consequences, such as brain, kidney, and liver abnormalities.

However, no such warning is required on underarm deodorants, toothpastes, or other products containing PG. Does the use of PG in toothpaste, for use in an area where it’s readily absorbed, seem logical to you?

In high concentration, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), an extremely alkaline substance, destroys protein instantly. In the mouth, it dissolves oral soft tissues, imparting a sick feeling. Dissolving off the protein with NaOH is not the way I want my patients to get clean teeth yet many dentists use these products to clean their patients’ teeth.

Sodium lauryl (SLS), contained in many toothpastes, is  a ubiquitous detergent and surfactant, which is also used in car washes, engine degreasers, and garage floor cleaners, poses a serious health risk because, like NaOH, it dissolves proteins.

Animals exposed to SLS experience diarrhea, eye damage, labored breathing, skin irritation, and even death. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens (cancer forming).

The body retains SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the brain, heart, liver, and lungs.

Meanwhile, sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), a toxic substance and close relative of SLS, sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) is known to have similar harmful effects, and is also common in many products used in this country.

Both SLES and SLS are used in toothpaste to make it foam. Given the health risks associated with each of them, do we really need these chemicals just for foam?

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease and in personal products as a thickener. PEG is a potential carcinogenic substance that, when used on the skin, alters its natural moisture factor, leaving the skin vulnerable to aging and invasion by harmful bacteria, PEG has no logical therapeutic benefit in toothpastes, but it is in quite a number of them.

In addition,  SD-40, an alcohol found in a number of toothpastes, is very dehydrating and acts as a carrier, facilitating the entry of other harmful chemicals into your soft tissues.

On the skin, it promotes premature aging and brown spots. A fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less, it may cause dizziness, flushing, headaches, mental depression, narcosis, nausea, vomiting and even coma.

As with all other harmful substances listed, I don’t know why SD-40, with its potentially harmful effects, is a common ingredient in toothpaste.

FD&C color pigments (Red No. 40, Green No.5, Blue No.1, Yellow No. 10, Red No. 30 lake, Yellow No.10 lake) are all synthetic colors made from coal tar, and animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic. Many of these colours contain heavy metal salts, which can accumulate in the body and cause serious health problems. Do toothpastes and mouthwashes really need to be blue, red, green, and yellow? These coal-tar derived colors may look nice, but at what cost to the user’s health?

Ethanol is the primary component in the majority of mouthwashes, and it has an extraordinary ability to draw moisture out of living cells, noticeably dehydrating tissues.

With alcohol contents of nearly 27 percent (54 proof), alcohol-based mouthwashes are known to be a cause of oral cancer for approximately 36,000 users a year (only smokers are more at risk for this form of cancer), and there were approximately 500 deaths in the year 2000 from this form of alcohol ingestion.

Of all the ingredients in oral health products, alcohol may be the most harmful. Besides dehydration and the oral cancer risks associated with it, studies show that alcohol dissolves cosmetic fillings.

University studies of twelve mouthwashes showed that none of them degraded or deteriorated cosmetic bonding or cosmetic filling materials.

Two of the three that did not harm composites were an alcohol-free mouth wash and a mild alcohol containing mouthwash.

They did not degrade the four tooth-colored filling material tested (water was used as a control), and the harm to the mouthwash.

With all the known problems and safety issues associated with alcohol-based mouthwashes, common sense dictates that they be avoided, if for no other reason than because they damage excellent (and expensive) cosmetic dentistry.

But you know, although we learn about the danger of certain things we still persist with them. Maybe that’s life.