Smile Sustainably: Exploring 5 Eco-Friendly Dental Care Products
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When making eco-friendly swaps, one area that can often be quite tricky is finding the best dental care products. I know, I’ve been there! From a variety of toothbrushes to dental tabs and floss I have given many a try and it wasn’t always pleasant. Luckily for you, I can now share my favourite eco-friendly dental care products with you so you don’t have to go through the same mistakes.
Sustainable Toothbrush
Ok so we all know that a manual plastic toothbrush is the worst type you can be using but what about your plastic electric one? What I would say is, if it is in good working order and it does the job properly, stick with it but make one small change; opt for recyclable heads. These are a small step in the right direction and it is so much better to use up what you already have. There are lots of replacement head options online but I found these from The Little Eco Company at a very good price.
If your current electric toothbrush has seen better days and you are looking to replace this then I can highly recommend going for a SURI. This is a sustainable toothbrush company who have made their product out of plant-based plastics, recyclable and repairable components and who offer a recycling programme for the heads and also the brush when you need it. I have had mine for a few years now and absolutely love the performance. You can read my full SURI review here if you want to find out more. If you are already interested you can get 10% off with my link to their website here.
And lastly, if you or your family do prefer a manual brush then a good bamboo toothbrush is your best sustainable choice. My children use the Non Plastic Beach Kids Bamboo Toothbrushes and get on really well with them. Once they need replacing you can remove the bristles by pulling them out with pliers and then compost the handles. A really simple yet effective eco swap.
Plastic-Free Toothpaste
This was probably the hardest area of change for me. At first I opted to try the toothpaste tabs as everyone online seemed to be raving about them. However, for me, they weren’t the easiest product to get on with. Chewing into a tablet first thing in the morning took a bit of getting used to and I really missed that fresh feeling that toothpaste provides. I did persevere but unfortunately, after a few weeks of use I found they left me with heartburn (the tablet seemed to be quite powdery when bitten into). I needed to find another solution but I was starting to realise that a lot of eco toothpastes don’t contain fluoride which I felt I needed (each to their own, I don’t have strong opinions on this so if you don’t use it that is fine). And then I came across Ben and Anna’s whitening toothpaste WITH fluoride and a lovely fresh minty flavour – I was sold! I now constantly rave about this product, I honestly think it is fab. It works, it tastes nice, it lasts ages, and it is plastic-free and sustainable. I highly recommend this if you are struggling with the other options out there.
Plastic-Free Floss
I have to admit, I hadn’t ever even thought about what regular floss was made of before I started looking into plastic-free products. I was shocked that I was blindly sticking a bit of plastic between my teeth to get them clean – seems like madness now looking back. When I did discover this I immediately looked for an alternative. The first one I tried was by Eco Living, it was thick and broke easily and did not do a very good job but then I found the Non Plastic Beach Natural Silk Dental Floss and it is perfect. Not only does it glide between your teeth easily but it is strong and actually does the job you’d expect. This is biodegradable so can go into your compost bin and the glass packaging is refillable.
Interdental Brushes
This is a new swap for me because I have had Invisalign in the last year and now cannot use floss on all of my teeth due to a wire holding the front ones in place. I was advised to use interdental brushes on these every night in order to get between the teeth and keep them in tip-top condition. There are many, many plastic versions of these in shops but I knew there had to be sustainable options and sure enough, I came across these bamboo interdental brushes. They are comfortable to use, work perfectly and I can compost the handles just as I do with our bamboo toothbrushes.
Mouthwash
Now, this isn’t a product that I personally use but I wanted to include it because I know for some it is a must especially if you’ve had oral issues such as an infection. Again, there are multiple alternatives to choose from and I have seen that Ben and Anna do an eco-friendly mouthwash in a glass bottle that contains aloe vera, sage and sea buckthorn and is suitable for sensitive teeth.
As you can see, there are lots of amazing eco-friendly dental care products on the market and ones that do the same job, if not better, than what you have been used to. I hope this will help you to make a few more sustainable switches in your home.
*This post contains affiliate links which will not affect your shopping experience, it just means I will earn a small commission each time you purchase through them. For more information please refer to my disclosure page.
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