When you go to the dentist for a root canal, you’re not exactly expecting a pleasant time.
But for Emily Lallouz of Burbank, California, her dentist trip turned out to be even worse than she imagined.
She already had her surgery appointment, and while her dentist was cleaning her teeth in preparation, she asked Emily a weird question.
“She asked me if I used any of the Crest Pro-Health toothpastes,” said Emily on Facebook. “After I said yes, she showed me all those blue things that ‘clean’ were under my gums and in between my teeth. They are actually PLASTIC!!!”
Emily is referring to the small blue beads that are found in certain toothpastes, such as Crest Pro-Health. These beads could have caused inflammation if left undetected.
Not only that, but the beads are made of polyethylene, which is founds in scrubs, toothpastes, and other cosmetic products that exfoliate. These micro balls don’t just cause problem for humans, they cause problems for the oceans too. The plastic balls are so small that they pass through filters that are meant to keep the bad stuff out, so they enter the ocean.
Fish and other animals we consume eat these small balls, and not only does it cause problems for fish populations, but those balls can also stay in the digestive system of the fish and end up in the meat we eat!
Germany has banned toothpastes that use microplastic, but in the U.S. they’re still abundant. If you want to make sure you’re not buying products that damage you and the environment, make sure none of these ingredients are on the ingredients list:
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polyethylenterephthalate (PET)
- Nylon-12
- Nylon-16
- Polyurethane (PUR)
- Ethylene-vinylacetate-copolymere (EVA)
- Acrylates copolymer (AC)
- Acrylates crosspolymer (ACS)
- Polyquaternium-7 (P-7)
Great alternatives to exfoliating beads are exfoliators with salt, or toothpastes with baking soda.
