Tom’s of Maine 683079 Antiplaque and Whitening Fluoride-Free Natural

5 reviews for Tom’s of Maine 683079 Antiplaque and Whitening Fluoride-Free Natural

1. 

   Alison – 10 December 2024

   Love Tom’s. I travel a lot for work and …
   Love Tom’s. I travel a lot for work and I carry these small tubes on trips. I also use for motorcycle camping. Perfect size. One tube last four days.

2. 

   Deborah Levita – 10 December 2024

   Five Stars
   My husband and I love this brand of toothpaste.

3. 

   JKay – 10 December 2024

   Great company; needs to improve the formulation though (5/5 green stars)
   I like Tom’s of Maine in general on account of their environmental awareness and no animal testing policy. I had found that their Antiplaque and Whitening toothpaste has a dehydrating effect and I usually had to drink or rinse with a lot of water after brushing my teeth to get rid of the chalkiness. However, now I’ve started using less toothpaste and also letting it hydrate/foam a little in my mouth for a minute or two before I do any serious brushing and that has helped a lot.Several vigilant reviewers have pointed out that Tom’s (now owned by Colgate-Palmolive) add sodium lauryl sulfate (aka SLS or SDS) to their toothpaste. There’s no evidence that SLS causes cancer but it can be a skin irritant at higher concentrations and has been shown to exacerbate canker sores in sensitive people. SLS is not naturally occurring – it’s made from fatty acids such as those found in coconut oil. Tom’s says: “When used in our toothpaste, SLS has limited contact with the gums and is then rinsed out. At the levels used in our products, SLS has no known toxicity — not even when ingested.”On the fluoride front, the addition to fluoride to water (practiced in the US but not in most European countries) helps to reduce dental decay but also carries some risks. I think we (involuntarily) get enough fluoride in our water – supplementing this with the even more fluoride in toothpaste is unnecessary in my view, considering that there are several concerns regarding its use. Quick summary of fluoride dosage and toxicity: around 5 grams is a potentially lethal dose for an adult and 60 mg for an average 2 year old. If a child were to accidentally swallow less than half a tube of toothpaste (such as Colgate Kids), it could be fatal. Then, around 0.2 mg/kg body weight can cause gastrointestinal discomfort (i.e. 2.4 mg for a 12 kg 2 year old, or 12 mg for a 60 kg adult). A large strip of toothpaste contains around 2.25 mg of fluoride (and a truly pea-sized amount contains 0.3 mg) while a liter of municipal tap water usually contains 1 mg. So, the amount of fluoride in toothpaste is fairly significant if you use a lot of paste, brush your teeth often, and/or tend to swallow some of it. In addition to gastrointestinal discomfort, chronic exposure to fluoride in large amounts interferes with bone formation. I’d rather eliminate the fluoride source in my toothpaste even if I choose to live with the fluoride in my tap water.Sustainability: 100% of Tom’s energy usage is offset by wind energy credits. They also do a lot of internal recycling, use post-consumer cardboard for packaging and waste or vegetable-based inks for printing. The “goodness report” on their website expansively covers their goals for energy and water use, recycling and waste generation, ingredients and community impact. It also mentions their planned move away from using SDS. Terracycle offer recycling of toothpaste tubes (along with many other items such as deodorant, floss, mouthwash and toothbrushes) for people willing to collect several of them and ship them off. This recycling program is sponsored by Tom’s but actually you can recycle empty containers from any company. It’s worth checking out Terracycle for recycling packaging in general – they provide free shipping labels.Two other popular options in the category of natural toothpaste (cruelty-free, generally natural ingredients, and fluoride-free options available) are Nature’s Gate and Jason’s. I like both companies and have used Nature’s Gate toothpaste for a long time. Nature’s Gate provides more information on sustainability than do Jason’s. Although Tom’s does a good job on the environmental front, I’m thinking of switching back to Nature’s Gate (also a great company), mainly because of the chalkiness / dryness I feel after using Tom’s.So, overall I’ll give the Tom’s of Maine Antiplaque and Whitening toothpaste 4/5 gold stars for quality of the product and 5/5 “green” stars based on the social-ethical-environmental aspects of producing it. If they changed their formulation by removing the SDS and made it less chalky then it might get 5 gold stars.

4. 

   D. Engel – 10 December 2024

   Five Stars
   Great toothpaste delivered promptly!

5. 

   Jock Friar – 10 December 2024

   Five Stars
   Very satisfied.