Mamavation | Healthy Living | Lifestyle | Detoxify Home | Product Recommendations

Mamavation » Blog » Beauty | Mamavation » Safest Non-Toxic Toothpaste & Tooth Powder With & Without Fluoride
Playful redhead brushing her teeth

//  by 

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

Should or should you not use fluoride in your toothpaste? The answer may surprise you. We reached out to our experts who are highly respected in their fields to help you navigate this and ranked all the brands accordingly. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like the best non-toxic shampoo, best non-toxic sunscreens, & best non-toxic deodorants, now join us for the best & worst non-toxic toothpaste & tooth powder brands with or without fluoride.

Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. It also contains affiliate links.

Three types of toothpaste in tubes with toothbrush

Fluoride–Should It Be Used Inside Toothpaste or Drinking Water?

The topic of fluoride is confusing and everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about it. Especially after May of 2020 when a group of 25 scientists published a meta-analysis on all the studies that have been done on fluoride thus far. The scientists stated very clearly that “fluoride is a human developmental neurotoxicant that reduces measures of intelligence in children, placing it into the same category as toxic metals (lead, methylmercury, arsenic) and polychlorinated biphenyls.”

Prior to that, in 2019, a group of 512 Canadian pregnant mothers and their children were studied and IQ tests were taken of the children at 3 to 4 years of age. The tests demonstrated that levels of fluoride present in drinking water had potentially robbed the children of 3 to 4 IQ points. These findings indicate the need to reduce fluoride intake in tap water during pregnancy.

The evidence of fluorinated drinking water stealing IQ points from American children continues to mount. However, every time a new study comes out, it seems as if the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) doubles down on its support of the benefits of fluoride in drinking water, toothpaste, and dental treatments as a way to deliver cavity prevention to children. Our advisors do not believe that fluoride in drinking water is wise.  However, their opinion of fluoride in toothpaste and dental treatments is positive. This idea in general is incredibly controversial in the scientific and medical world.  As explained in the video below, the AAP is trading several IQ points for essentially ONE cavity.

What the Experts on Hormone Disruption in Children Say About Toothpaste & Fluoride

So what about toothpaste and tooth products? It’s a totally different exposure level, so we had questions.

We reached out to Dr. Leo Trasande, Director of Environmental Pediatrics at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and one of our pediatric advisors. Dr. Trasande has been very active in warning parents about the problems behind hormone-disrupting chemicals. In his book, Sicker, Fatter, Poorer Trasande reveals the alarming truth about hormone-disrupting chemicals effect on our daily lives–and what we can do to protect ourselves and fight back. Because of his unique position with one foot in the medical world and one foot in the activist world, we felt he was uniquely positioned to advise us on this issue.

His response may be surprising for some of us, but it is logical and makes sense. Protecting children from the perils of cavities, which can result in the creation of other chronic diseases down the road, he supports the use of fluoride in toothpaste and dental treatments. However, he believes using fluoride in water is another issue that can be problematic because it’s ingested. In terms of toothpaste, you are spitting most of it out and getting very little exposure. This is where he says that fluoride has a legitimate use in toothpaste as a chemical that can prevent worse things down the road.

We also reached out to Dr. Bruce Lanphear, MD, MPH, who’s a Clinician Scientist and Medical Doctor at the Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital. He’s also a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia and is well versed on the perils of fluoride and children. In fact, he was called as a witness to testify at the TSCA fluoride trial against the EPA and continues to be an expert on fluoride and exposure to children. He had a very similar take on fluoride in toothpaste as Dr. Leo Trasande and felt it was problematic in water, but not so problematic in toothpaste. The reasoning behind that is it’s more of a nuanced issue and the exposure levels are just nowhere as high as you would find in things like drinking water.

Bottom line: both of them seemed to think that fluoride was not as much of a problem in toothpaste as it is in drinking water.

Young woman holding a toothbrush and placing toothpaste on it

Irony: Most Fluoride-Adding Toothpastes Were Not “Best” Anyways

Unfortunately, when we evaluated toothpaste ingredients in most of the 275+ toothpaste and toothpowder products, we didn’t find very many with fluoride that also avoided the other problematic ingredients. In other words, most of the brands using natural ingredients are already avoiding fluoride.

So ultimately what we have decided to do is mark toothpaste products clearly in the investigation in bold so that you know which ones contain fluoride and which ones do not so you to make up your own mind. So if you want the best fluoride-free toothpastes, you’ll find plenty.

Also, since toothpaste is a product that is mostly not ingested because it is spit out, we feel that the better & best categories would suffice just fine for both adults and children.

Young black child with father brushing teeth

Other Problematic Ingredients Found in Toothpaste

After looking through the ingredients in over 275+ toothpaste products, we spotted some trends with other problematic ingredients that we wanted to alert you to. Here is a list of ingredients that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, are problematic to wildlife, or have other types of issues.

  • Titanium Dioxide: Meta-analysis of nano-based titanium dioxide (which is the most common form) is appeared to be linked to oxidative stress, histopathological alterations, carcinogenesis, genotoxicity, and immune disruption.
  • Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate: SLS is a surfactant that depending on the manufacturing process, can be contaminated with ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, both carcinogens. Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate can be contaminated with nitrosamines and is restricted in Japan and viewed as an environmental toxicant by Canada.
  • Polyethylene Glycol (PEGs): a mixture of petroleum-based polymers that have been bonded together and turned into sticky emollients and penetration enhancers. Sadly, these chemicals compounds have issues with contamination of ethylene oxide, 1,4-dioxane, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and heavy metals and many of these impurities are linked to cancer.
  • Parabens: typically work as artificial preservatives in products to kill bacteria that are linked to hormone disruption in the body, can potentially harm fertility and reproductive organs, affect birth outcomes, and increase the risk of cancer.
  • Sodium Hydroxide: Also known as caustic soda and lye, but is a manufactured chemical. There have been reports of cancer of the esophagus. Most of the time, you are exposed to this chemical at higher levels through cleaning products. FDA allows sodium hydroxide into food products at no higher than 1%. Prolonged contact with skin can cause serious irritation, has a destructive effect upon skin cells and can aggravate pre-existing skin disorders. This is a lower concern as toothpaste because you are spitting, but another reason to remember to spit! However, a small amount will always coat your throat.
  • Artificial Colors: Chemical substances based on petroleum that makes colors more vibrant have been linked to hyperactivity in children and cancers.
  • Propylene Glycol: This controversial chemical increases the amount of acid in the body and is approved by the FDA as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) for use as a food additive. It is used to absorb extra water and maintain moisture in cosmetics and as a solvent for food colors & flavors, so part of the artificial flavors group. However, this chemical is downright dangerous to those suffering from kidney and liver disease and will cause toxic effects.  Pregnant women and children under the age of 5 are also at risk because they have lower levels of an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase, which is needed to break it down and remove it from the body.
  • Nano Hydroxyapatite or Nano Silver: Nanoparticles are problematic in general because they are unpredictable and like to congregate around internal organs. Due to their size, these particles can readily penetrate the body and cells through various routes. Nano hydroxyapatite is a needle-shaped, nano version that is alarming some health experts in the European Union. Because of its unique properties and behaviors, which are unknown, it could be harmful in oral health products.  Nano-silver has unique antibacterial properties that have been hailed as a breakthrough germ-killing agent, however preliminary research on rats has found that silver nanoparticles can traverse into the brain, and can induce degeneration and necrosis by accumulating in the brain over a long period of time.
  • Cocamidopropyl Betaine: this chemical is a surfactant, which means that it interacts with water to make molecules more slippery so they don’t stick together.  It lathers up the dirt and grime and as you spit it down the drain. However, in 2004, the American Contact Dermatitis Society declared it the “Allergen of the Year” because of reactions reported all over the US. It is an irritant, and it can cause tightness, redness, or itchiness when used as a product additive.

Woman brushing her teeth

Mamavation Finds Indications of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Inside Popular Dental Flosses

Which brands of tooth floss are the safest for families to use on a routine basis for oral care? Mamavation tested 39 dental floss products at an EPA-certified laboratory looking for indications of PFAS “forever chemicals” and got a concerning glimpse of how many very popular products could be contaminating consumers in a way they had not realized. 33% of dental floss products sent to our EPA-certified laboratory had indications of PFAS “forever chemicals,” while 67% of products did not. In other words, 13 out of 39 products had indications of PFAS. Click here to see more details on other brands tested.

Here are some of the brands we can recommend:

woman about to brush her teeth

Mamavation’s Investigation of Toothpaste & Tooth Powder Products

Mamavation identified 275+ different toothpaste products, including toothpaste and tooth powders, to include in this investigation. Because some natural-minded parents are more critical of fluoride, we made sure to clearly mark which products had fluoride and which ones did not to make this easy for you based on the direction of our advisors. If you are looking for more eco-friendly products, we have also included tooth powder oral care. Sadly, several products recommended by the American Dental Association made our “not our favorite” list. Mamavation has recently sent over 40+ tubes of toothpaste to the laboratory so we will be able to tell you how much fluoride your toothpaste contains.

Not Our Favorite Toothpaste & Tooth Powder Products

These dental products contained the worst ingredients we found in over 275+ products that we ranked. In this group you’ll find some of the following ingredients in excess to avoid tooth decay: parabens, PEGs, Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS), Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, sodium hydroxide, & nano-titanium dioxide. Most brands that were in this list had several problematic ingredients, so we put the ones here who had the worst.

  • Activ-8 Activated Charcoal Toothpaste
  • Aim Kids Mega Bubble Berry Toothpaste Gel* 
  • Aim Multi Benefit Cavity Protection Gel* 
  • Amway Glister Toothpaste*
  • Aquafresh Kids 2+ Bubble Mint Toothpaste
  • Aquafresh Training Flouride-Free 2-24 Months Toothpaste
  • Aquafresh Extreme Clean Pure Breath Action Toothpaste
  • Arm & Hammer Essentials Fluoride-Free Toothpaste Whiten + Activated Charcoal
  • Arm & Hammer Complete Care Toothpaste
  • Avon Whitening Essentials Toothpaste Blanc Charcoal Fresh Mint*
  • Colgate Optic White Toothpaste*
  • Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste*
  • Colgate UltraBrite Toothpaste*
  • Crest ProHealth Complete Toothpaste
  • Crest Gum Detoxify Deep Clean Toothpaste
  • Crest ProHealth Enamel Toothpaste
  • HEB Fresh Mint Sensitive Toothpaste*
  • HEB Kid’s Cavity Protection Watermelon Mint Fluoride Toothpaste*
  • Life Extension Toothpaste Mint
  • LunaMoon Activated Charcoal Teeth Whitening Powder
  • NU Skin AP 24 Whitening Fluoride Free Toothpaste
  • Paradontax Clean Mint Fluoride Anticavity Toothpaste*
  • Pepsodent Complete Care Original Flavor
  • Risewell Natural Hydroxyapatite  (Class action filed alleging they found PFAS “forever chemicals” inside a toothpaste)
  • Risewell Natural Kids Toothpaste (Class action filed alleging they found PFAS “forever chemicals” inside a toothpaste) 
  • Sensodyne True White Extra Fresh (SLS-Free) Toothpaste*
  • Sensodyne Full Protection (SLS-Free) Toothpaste*
  • Signal Complete 8 Nature Elements Toothpaste with Baking Soda, Rosemary & Mint
  • Signal Sensitive Expert Original Toothpaste
  • Urban Retreat Diamond Lustre Tooth Cream (formerly Acti-Labs)*

bamboo toothbrushes

Better Toothpaste & Tooth Powder Products

These products were light years better than the other category but still had some problems. We found the following ingredients in these brands but not as prevalent as the other category: nano-titanium dioxide, propylene glycol, nano-hydroxyapatite, nano-silver, cocamidopropyl betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, sodium hydroxide, nitrites, or an excessive level of preservatives. We allowed products with fluoride in this category, however, fluoride products are clearly labeled in bold with a *. We’ve also identified the toothpaste and tooth powders that self-identify as “gluten-free.”

small child brushing her teeth

Best Toothpaste & Tooth Powder Products

This category represents the best products with the best ingredients. We allowed products with fluoride in this category provided they didn’t have other excessive junk ingredients called out in this post. However, fluoride products are clearly labeled in bold with a * and down below. We’ve also identified the toothpaste and tooth powders that self-identify as “gluten-free.”

Toothpaste without Fluoride:

Toothpaste with Fluoride:

One-year baby girl playing upside down on the street

Toothpaste Brands that Have Been Tested for Indications of PFAS (Total Organic Fluorine) and had Non-Detect Results:

These products were sent to an EPA-certified laboratory and found to have non-detect results for total organic fluorine. The detection limit on this testing was 10 ppm, so if there was organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS, below 10 ppm, our lab would not be able to detect it. However, it’s clear these specific products did not have organic fluorine present above 10 ppm according to our lab.

Recent Product Investigations

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Artie

    I can certainly understand people’s fears with putting a non-nutritive substance into their and their kids mouths that, at some levels, is certainly toxic. But I’d like to start with the meta-analysis that you quoted directly in the beginning. The lines that you pull in at the beginning from the abstract (“fluoride is a human developmental neurotoxicant that reduces measures of intelligence in children, placing it into the same category as toxic metals (lead, methylmercury, arsenic) and polychlorinated biphenyls”) was the reason they conducted this meta-analysis. However, their findings were that these studies all were quite low-powered and did not control for many other factors that could’ve lead to the statistically mild results they obtained. And, these are not all the studies out there on the effects of fluoride, they were the studies that specifically proposed a significant deleterious neurologic effect. The study of 512 individuals and the proposed small variation in IQ (a dubious test anyway) suffers from the same issue.

    Now, I’m not saying that fluoride is absolutely and certainly benign. These are tough studies to do, and the fluoride side will definitely have more money behind them, giving power to their studies. But, at this point, I am not aware of any high-powered and well-designed studies that demonstrate reproduceable risk with current recommended use of fluoride. And their seems to be evidence saying that it seems to be safe in most cases when used as directed. As well, there is both many studies demonstrating fluoride is the best chemical for removing bacterial plaques while remineralizing the teeth. It certainly isn’t the only one! So folks whose worries about fluoride are greater than their confidence in its beneficial effects have options, just statistically a bit less effective options.

    I confess that I am neither a dentist or a dental scientist – I’m just a GP. But I definitely see the well demonstrated cross over between poor dental health and numerous other organ system disease – especially cardiac. This has been well-demonstrated with high population studies that did a great job at controlling for confounding factors (some of them). So, I recommend you do what you need to do to protect your teeth. If what you are doing does not seem to be working, step up your game.

    Reply

  6. Erin Moore

    You might want to revisit your listing of Risewell. The class action lawsuit was voluntarily dropped by the plaintiffs because further third party testing found no PFAs.

    Reply

  7. Luna

    As someone who enjoys using pronamel by sensodyne, I want to know if there’s any red flags I should look out for in this product, or if it’s something that’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If there is something bad in it what is a similar product? I have cavity prone teeth due to weakened enamel.

    Reply

  9. ladangtoto

    Link exchange іs notһing else howeveг it іѕ simply placing thee οther
    person’s blog link onn үouг page at proper рlace and othеr person wiⅼl also do same in support of ʏou.
    website : doktor20

    Reply

  10. Shaly

    I’m surprised to see something like Redmond’s where the first ingredient is bentonite clay on the “best” list, when bentonite clay generally has unsafe levels of lead in it. I wouldn’t want it in my mouth.

    Reply

    • OraWellness

      We really encourage you and anyone else reading these comments to reconsider choosing to use a toothpaste with potassium nitrate to stop sensitivity. Potassium nitrate simply ‘cools off’ sensitivity and does nothing to address the root cause of tooth sensitivity.

      Let’s start by stating that sensitivity to cold or hot drinks is due to enamel being compromised and being too ‘porous’ which allows for the cold/hot drink to impact the nerves in our teeth. The result is that unfortunate ‘sting’ from an iced drink when it touches your teeth.

      As a company, we are very proud of our remineralizing tooth whitening powder, OraWellness Shine (which you can find in the above list in the ‘best’ category). Shine contains no analgesics (numbing agents), yet 85% of people surveyed who had tooth sensitivity reported a decline or complete elimination of sensitivity by using OraWellness Shine. Given that Shine contains no numbing agents, how did 85% of participants report a decline or elimination of sensitivity? Because Shine supports the body’s ability to remineralize weakened, demineralized areas on our teeth (the cause of sensitivity in the first place), using Shine actually addresses the root cause of tooth sensitivity.

      We hope this helps you along your path!

      If you have questions, we encourage you to come to OraWellness.com where we have lots of free resource guides to assist you. Our most popular free guidebook is ‘How to stop tooth decay and remineralize your teeth’.

      Reply

  13. Patty

    Your writing style is very engaging and I appreciated the in-depth research you did. It was very informative and provided a fresh perspective on the subject. I will definitely be sharing this with my colleagues and friends.

    Reply

  18. Justin

    Hello, why is Nano Hydroxyapatite toothpaste in the list of the best toothpaste given the concerning description in the beginning of the article? Thanks!

    Reply

  19. Justin

    Why is Risewell Natural Hydroxyapatite Toothpaste in the best category provided the concerning description of Nano Hydroxyapatite in the beginning of the article? Thanks in advance.

    Reply

    • Anonymous

      I have no affiliation with them but your comment made me go down the rabbit hole, I found this on an interview with the founder of Risewell: They asked the question, “How do we create more of what your tooth enamel is made of?” And they worked on figuring out how to manufacture synthetic hydroxyapatite. This synthetic form is nano-hydroxyapatite, but just in the last decade, a naturally derived, non-nano form became more widely available, and this is what we use.

      There is another hydroxyapatite toothpaste on the market that uses nano-hydroxyapatite. But with Risewell, we wanted to stay as close to nature as possible with our ingredients — and also avoid nanoparticles. This natural form of hydroxyapatite is vegan and sourced from a mine in France. We visited every single supplier we could find so that we knew exactly where it came from.

      Reply

  21. Clif Williams

    How about cetylpiridinium chloride in mouthwashes/oral rinses (such as Oral B Dry Mouth Rinse & others)? Doesn’t cetylpiridinium work similar to chlorexhidine in killing both good and bad mouth bacteria?

    Reply

  24. James

    Thank you for sharing this and providing links to the studies. In fact, I was one of those people who, until recently, thought that fluoride really couldn’t be a big problem for our body, since it has been used in our toothpaste for so long. But you were able to prove how wrong I was. Also, a special thanks for giving us a list of toothpaste and tooth powders that are really safe and useful for us. Since after such information I immediately wanted to change my paste.

    Reply

  28. Michelle

    Why does your best list has glycerin? It leaves an invisible coating that doesn’t let nature work and inhibit the natural process of remineralization, but it is also a magnet for plaque.

    Reply

    • Sandy

      I’m with you on that, Michelle. Glycerin also keeps the living teeth from breathing. Earthpaste, without silver, is the only one on the list that I know to be pure.
      It is hard to find toothpaste without glycerin.
      I just recently found North American Herb & Spice OregaFresh, P73 Toothpaste, Mint
      Ingredients: mountain springwater, calcium carbonate, peppermint, spearmint, extra virgin olive oil, wild oregano oil P73, sage, rhatany root, geranium, clove bud oil, birch tree extract, eucalyptus leaf oil, papaya extract
      I haven’t tried it yet but it sounds good.

      Reply

      • S

        NAHS is such a great company. They also have a wonderful vitamin E with all four tocopherols and tocotrienols! Very important and can be hard to find.

        Reply

    • Raadhika Naaraayan

      Yeah, wondering the same. The list must curated to make it glycerin free as well. Uncle Harry’s also doesn’t kaane glycerin. I use the spearmint paste. I love that.

      Reply

      • Sandy

        Fluoride is toxic and actually makes your bones more brittle. As a nutritional consultant, I have done a lot of research on toothpaste. The closest one I have found that I consider anywhere near “clean” is Redmond Earthpaste. I have not found 1 other toothpaste that does not have glycerine. The problem with glycerine is that our teeth are living tissue and need to breathe. Glycerine coats the teeth so they cannot breathe. My dentist told me to brush with magnesium citrate.

        Reply

  29. mmztcass

    I do not use any form of paste, powder, gel, etc. I just use tree twigs of Miswak/Toothwak for my teeth. I feel using these gives me a better clean mouth and my mouth still feels fresh the next morning after brushing from the night before.

    Reply

  30. Robbie

    Thanks so much! I’m confused as to why Redmond’s Earth Paste is not in the best category… ingredients are bentonite clay, sea salt, menthol, tea tree oil, and spearmint oil (for the spearmint flavored one) Can you tell me what the bad ingredient is?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.