Triclosan Toothpaste and Mouth Care

A lot of controversy surrounds Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical that can be found in an abundance of products from soap to deodorant to mouthwash.  But are Triclosan toothpaste and mouth care products safe?

Tricolsan is indeed regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has actually deemed it a pesticide! Triclosan toothpaste and mouth care products may not be all that safe after all.

When you’re brushing your teeth, your top concern is your health. So it’s important to know if you’re risking your health by investing in Triclosan toothpaste and mouth care products.  But the truth is, we don’t really know yet.

Triclosan may not be such a good match with chlorine in tap water, as some research has suggested that triclosan and chlorine together result in carcinogenic chloroform gas. This means Triclosan toothpaste and mouth care products are of special alarm. But further reports have shown that the amounts of chloroform generated are fairly insignificant and may not even trump the amounts already present in just chlorinated waters alone. However, it is believed that Triclosan can still create other dioxins when mixed with tap water and this is a worry and topic of debate.

Tricolsan toothpaste and mouth care products include Dentyl mouthwash, Colgate Total Fresh Stripe, Colgate Total, and Mentadent. Whenever you buy an anti-bacterial product, carefully read the warning label. Triclosan is not the only product on the shelves that has potentially harmful effects. It is important to be a well-informed consumer, especially when purchasing products that you can ingest – like toothpaste and mouthwash.