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Did You Know...
...that in the 19th century the use of charcoal was a very popular teeth cleaning method and the strawberry was considered to be a "natural" solution for preventing tartar and giving fresh breath? - toothpasteworld.com
To say that I used to love to brush my teeth as a child would be a lie. I'd rather have a root canal than brush my teeth at the end of the day. I just hated the grittiness of it all. I have found I have a very sensitive and acute honing in ability to hear the slightest of sounds. A certain
degree of "Spidey Sense" if you will. I can sense when a bug is in the room and I can hear my son tapping on something 2 rooms away, so I definitely heard way too much going on in my mouth when I brushed. My husband is always astounded by this power I possess. I think he secretly wants to sell me to the circus and make a few bucks...
Right. So I didn't like brushing my teeth as a youngster and some of that avoidance has sadly carried over into my adulthood. I'll do it now, but sometimes with an attitude. "Alright fiiiine I gueeeess I'll brush my teeth - but I won't like it one bit!" Until I smile into the mirror at the end and get that glinty shiny feeling. You know the one. Where you want to see that diamond star twinkle on one of your front canines kind of feeling? I absolutely live for that moment.
Doing research this week for the toothpaste I sampled and reviewed turned up some pretty interesting things. Some ugly, some not so ugly. Wanna hear about it? Here it goes.
Arm & Hammer Advance White Flouride anti-cavity Toothpaste
I have loved Arm & Hammer products since I was a young girl doing laundry for my family. With 4 brothers and no sisters I have done my fair share of laundry I would say, yet here I am...still with the laundry! I loved that baking soda could disinfect everything in our house at a moments notice on cleaning days. I love the smell of it actually. It just reminds me of clean. So when I moved out on my own when I was 20 guess who came with me? My moms boxes of Arm & Hammer AND her liquid laundry detergent. When I moved, nothing that wasn't nailed down was safe from my grasp. "I'm gonna need that, that, aaaand that. Thank you parental units!"
So imagine my glee when I found out they were making toothpaste. I figured well if they make such great detergent and powder then the toothpaste must be great too, right?
WRONG!
And here's the reason why, there is no problem with the result itself. I got the ooh aah clean feeling. It's the ingredients that make UP the paste that got me reeling. Mondays when I review things are stomach turning days for me. Especially if it didn't go so well. :oP So this Monday I was researching and researching and came across interesting things about the ingredients. Right this way folks....down the hall and to the left is ingredient NUMBER 1!
Sodium Flouride: used to prevent tooth decay but many sources that I came across really read this one it's rights because apparently this ingredient has been shown to have a dullifying effect on our brains. This is the same chemical that has been in use as rat poison since forever and a time ago and since it was being sold pre-1938 and before the FDA started testing the safety of products, then So Flo got "grandfathered" in as being safe. The FDA claimed that they went on the premise that all pre-1938 drugs were considered safe. Oh really? Really? We won't even touch the rumor of this chemical and it's possible Nazi ties. What the FDA did say was that fluoride was safe as topical use but not intended for ingestion. Hence the FDA warning labels on our toothpaste of "do not swallow". Because if you swallow alot of this (like little kids have the tendency to do so) you could suffer adverse effects including but not limited to nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, drooling, numbness or tingling, muscle stiffness, or seizures (convulsions) and possibly even death depending on how much you downed. (source: thenhf)
Mmmm....minty!
It also contains Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate. On OSHAs' website they say that acute exposure to this chemical can cause mild to moderate irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and respiratory passages. No wonder my daughter always gags and says "It's too spicy!" Oh and in case you were wondering they have all these lovely ingredients in the Kid's Crest toothpaste too. But it's in a glittery bottle to distract us from the now.
No wonder they tell us not to ingest this stuff. And that we should contact a Poison Control Center if more than the necessary pea-sized portion is swallowed for children. Because...it's actually poisonous to us.
So this weeks toothpaste gets two thumbs down and I'm throwing in a few rotten tomatoes for good measure just in case anyone from Crest is reading and misses my point.
And now I'm off to find a healthier alternative to the mainstream toothpaste. Do any of you have any that you trust and love? I KNEW there was a valid reason that I didn't like to brush. My Spidey Sense never steers me wrong. ;o)
My best,
Music: We have been hooked on these guys for awhile around here. This song is very enjoyable. The Avett Brothers "Will You Return". Look into them, they make beautiful sounds. How hot must the back of that bus been? Oh and would you please take the poll above the music player? I'm considering other music player options...thanks!
