We prefer to be honest.. so we thought we would expose some of the most common misconceptions in the Oral Care category.

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT "GREEN" TOOTHBRUSHES

There is a BIG difference between a product being Degradable, Biodegradable, Compostable, Sustainable or Recycable.

ALL products are Degradable! With enough time everything degrades. A regular plastic toothbrush can take several centuries to completely degrade in nature and your average tomato takes around 3 months.

Biodegradable plastic products often require an a specially developed Industrial Compost with temperatures well above 60 Celcius only available at certain Recycling Plants to degrade the plastic fast.
If you don't have an Industrial Compost to deliver your Biodegradable plastic to it basically makes it normal plastic since the time to degrade is more or less the same as regular plastic.

Compostable plastic DOES NOT EXIST. Period. And today there is no such thing as a compostable toothbrush. Even if the handle is made from bamboo and the bristles are pigs hair the bristles are anchored down by a metal anchor. That metal anchor is pretty small but still not compostable..
The only toothbrushes that are truly compostable are old toothbrushes made from bone and animal hair where they used pieces of bone to anchor the bristles.

Sustainable plastic or material derives from a renewable source and are often NOT recyclable BUT biodegradable. Normal plastic is made from Crude Oil... which is a fossil fuel and does not regenerate. A sustainable plastic is made from Corn, Bean, Sugar Cane, Vegetable Oil etc. A sustainable plastic is often called Bioplastic.

Another sustainable material is bamboo, which regenerates fast and is strong with tight fibers. Bamboo is both sustainable and compostable.

See our toothbrushes made from sustainable material here.

Recyclable plastic is plastic that can be reused time and time again. Grinded down into plastic pulp and then melted down and injected into another mold. For a plastic to be recyclable it cannot be contaminated with other materials or plastics. For instance, a toothbrush with plastic and rubber is not recyclable because the rubber and plastic cannot the separated. But a regular plastic toothbrush made from PP plastic can be recycled if the bristle head with the anchors are cut off.
Bioplastic are often NOT recyclable.

 

To determine the "greenness" of a product, one must also keep in mind the production process and machines involved. A product made by hand is much "greener" than one that is machine-made, since the machine requires energy to function. Energy that is often created by other materials in different machines and are included in a different production process.

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT FLOURIDE

Yes, Flouride is classified as Toxic Waste and is poisonous. In fact, if a infant would eat a whole tube of toothpaste he/she would probably die due to the amount of Flouride.

That being said, Flouride protects the teeth and is important to maintain long term oral health. It is so important for the protection of your teeth that it is recommended to not rinse your mouth after you brush... or at least use a mouthwash with flouride after you brush and rinse to ensure that the flouride stays on your teeth.

There are still countries in the world that mixes small amounts of Flouride in the drinking water to get a population with better oral health.. but to add Flouride in the drinking water is really not recommended.

After all, water should be as clean as possible, and even though the amounts of Flouride is small... Flouride IS a poison and is NOT meant to be consumed.. In toothpaste and mouthwash that is spit out, yes. In water that you drink, no.

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES

Are electric toothbrushes more efficient than manual toothbrushes? Yes, of course they are! 

But... do they remove 100% more plaque than a manual toothbrush? No.

With proper brushing technique you can achieve thorough plaque removal using a regular manual toothbrush. 

As with electric toothbrushes, manual toothbrushes also differ in quality and efficiency. And studies have been made putting a range of different quality electric toothbrushes face-to-face against a range of different quality manual toothbrushes.

The result?

The electric toothbrushes are just as safe as manual toothbrushes, removed 10 - 49% more Plaque and reduced Gingivitus by 8 - 40% over the same time of usage.

2 out of 10 people did not get any benefit whatsoever from an electric toothbrush over a manual toothbrush.

For sure an electric toothbrush is more efficient than a manual toothbrush in general. There is no argumenting that. But it's not an increase of 100%.. That is like saying you are 2 meters tall when you are in fact only 1 and a half meter.

Keep in mind that an electric toothbrush requires precious energy to work and uses toxic batteries that should be disposed of properly.

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT BRISTLES

Lets get this straight. There is absolutely no research that proves that any type of angled bristles or rubber in the head would be more efficient than regular straight bristles.

A toothbrush is a essentially just a basic brush and it is HOW you use it that will make the difference.

Dentists recommend you not to use hard bristles. But people do it anyways... Why? Most of the time they feel like softer bristles don't clean/brush the teeth enough.. Often these types of people are also people who brush hard. It is kind of a bad circle here, since the combination of brushing hard with hard bristles is not good for either teeth or gums.

Toothbrush bristles should be gentle. You use the toothbrush to clean your teeth and tongue and mainly to take away the bacteria filled biofilm called Plaque. Plaque is soft.
Therefor there is no need to use hard bristles that could do damage over a longer period of time.

 

 

RECOMMENDED BY DENTISTS

Yes. Dentist recommend that you brush your teeth and maintain good oral health.

But lets face it.... If a Dentist recommends one brand, gives away a second brand, uses another a third brand himself and only sells the first, fourth and a fifth brand in his dental clinic we can pretty much call bullshit on it all and assume that the "dentists" in the ads of the big brands are getting a pretty penny for backing up a slogan that an advertising agency came up with to sell more products.