Hi and welcome to another blog! I have been so inspired by world earth day that I thought I would show you a few environmentally friendly dental products I’m loving RN that can help keep your teeth & gums healthy and our planet healthy too.

Dentistry isn’t the most environmentally friendly sector to work in. This is because for us to follow the rules regarding steralisation, the rules for keeping you safe and the rules for keeping us safe we need to use a lot of single use plastic at the moment.

We should all be thinking about how we can be helping the planet on a daily basis, and if you’re not you’re a crazy fool. Over the past few years I’ve noticed the dental world really stepping up to the mark and offering the paying public choices so they can make a change if they would like to. Here are a few of my favourites.

Toothbrushes

So, in theory, plastic is a good option for a toothbrush because it helps keep bacteria to a minimum. The problem comes whenever there are 7.8 million people in the world go through about 300 toothbrushes each in their lifetime. That adds up to a lot of plastic, most of which unfortunately ends up in the sea.

Now, instead of plastic, lots of companies are offering a bamboo option which is natural, and sustainable. The only thing with bamboo brushes is you need to keep them in a clean dry cupboard between uses and rinse them really well under a cold tap after you brush your teeth.

If you would rather choose a brush that isn’t made of bamboo, Tepe have invented the environmentally friendly ‘Good Brush’ * which is made of sugar cane, castor oil and recycled carbon dioxide.

Some companies, like Colgate, will even recycle your old toothbrushes for you depending on where you live. You could also try an electric toothbrush, you still need to replace the heads, but these are smaller and have less plastic than a traditional manual toothbrush.

Toothpastes

Toothpaste in general has come a long way with more and more brands thinking about the environment. At the moment my favourites are Spotlight Oral Care toothpaste and Parla toothpaste tablets.

Both of these brands are SLS free, cruelty free, ocean safe, vegan and have 100% recyclable outer packaging. Spotlight Oral Care are a bit more like a traditional toothpaste, whereas Parla toothpaste tablets have turned toothbrushing on its head a bit. I’ve reviewed both of these toothpastes on my YouTube channel and on my Instagram page.

Most environmentally friendly toothpaste are slightly more expensive, mostly because they’re made by small independent companies and in small batches. If you can afford to, I think we all should be choosing more environmentally friendly brands. The more of us that can do this, the more likely it will be that we’ll start seeing more cost effective options.

Cleaning In Between Your Teeth

I have some patients who skip this step for environmental reasons, but I’m here to let you know that you can protect yourself from cavities, gum problems and bad breath AND help protect the environment at the same time! Hooray! If you’re used to using interdental brushes, you can swap out to a bamboo pickster pretty easily, just remember as we talked about with the brushes you need to store them in a clean dry place between uses.

My favourite environmentally friendly option for cleaning in between your teeth are the Curaprox CPS Prime interdental brushes. These brushes work best if you can get them sized up at your dental hygiene appointment, then you can hold on to the plastic handle, or better yet spend a little more and get the metal handle, and then replace the bristly bit that cleans in between your teeth as you need to keeping plastic waste to a minimum.

Another good option if you would like to clean your teeth with the environment in mind is a water flosser. My favourite is the Cordless Advanced Waterpik water flosser which I’ve blogged about in a bit more detail here. The plastic tip will last for at least 6 months, which compared to using an interdental brush or a flossette every day for for 6 months is much less plastic.

Cleaning Your Tongue

Cleaning your tongue is such an important part of your oral hygiene routine to keep bacteria levels in your mouth as low as possible and keeps your breath smelling sweet. A lot of tongue cleaners are made of plastic, but there are environmentally friendly options available for this step too. As we saw above with the Tepe ‘Good Brush’, Tepe are also using their castor oil and sugar cane method to make tongue cleaners. You could also invest in a stainless steel tongue scraper that will last forever, you could even go all out and get an engraved one at rwperio.com - go on treat yourself.

Mouthwashes

I always say to all my patients mouthwashes can be helpful, but they’re not essential and this is a step of the routine that I wouldn’t mind you skipping for environmental reasons to save on some plastic. Sometimes I will reccomend a mouthwash, but the most important parts of your oral hygiene routine are good toothbrushing and cleaning in between your teeth at least once a day. If you feel that you would really miss mouthwash as part of your routine, you could try Aesop mouthwash in a glass bottle, but at £17 its pretty pricey. If in doubt leave it out, and make sure you’re not rinsing with water after brushing if you are.

Hopefully this helps you make some environmentally friendly choices to help keep your gums, teeth and the planet healthy. I would say these products are only going to start becoming more and more widely available, with more and more options for toothbrushes, toothpastes and interdental brushes coming soon. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but if you have any questions or need any guidance on dental products to fit in with an environmentally friendly lifestyle please message me via my website or my Instagram page. Thankyou so much for reading <3.

*gifted products