When I was six kindly Dr. Burt told me to brush my teeth at least twice a day if I wanted to keep them. I have and it's paid off. My original teeth have stuck around with only a few minor skirmishes in the dentist's chair.
For the last ten years I've used formulations for sensitive teeth and have gotten the best results if I switched back and forth between different brands. So when Sensodyne came out with their newest product, "Iso- Active Foaming Gel", I couldn't wait to add a new formulation to the rotation. The press on this one, that it's formulated to "penetrate hard to reach places" sounded especially good.
It's not cheap... At 4.3 ounces its the same price as tubes almost twice the size. But I bought it, used it, and liked it. It performed as promised. My teeth looked good, felt smooth and clean...and maybe even looked a little whiter. I liked this product so much I never thought of putting "Iso- Active Foaming Gel" to the Skin Deep test. Maybe it was just my toothpaste prejudice. How could something as uninteresting and mundane as toothpaste be worth the time and effort?
This morning I acknowledged I should at least look at the label... had to squint really hard even with my glasses on. The first ingredient I could focus on made my blood run cold. It was the cocamidopropyl betaine I've recently learned is a precusor to nitrosamine! It's research time people...
Because I already knew nitrosamine is banned in cosmetics and body care products in Europe (European Commission on Human Affairs) and is a known carcinogen (Science Direct) the next logical stop was Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database.
Thank goodness someone else beat me to it and I didn't have to enter all those ingredients myself. Yep- Sensodyne Iso-Active Toothpaste review from Skin Deep results were right in front of me and the news was all bad. Sensodyne's newest product scored a 5 - that's at the high end of a moderate hazard. Worse, when I looked at the hazard breakdown list I saw something I'd never seen before on Skin Deep. Every hazard area was checked! And I'd actually had all that foaming in my mouth.
Suddenly the toothpaste issue was red hot. What had I been so diligently brushing with ALL these years? And to what had I subjected my family? It's too horrible to think about...
So... I've provided the first section of the Skin Deep review below. And if you'd like to do your own research- always recommended- the links are in the text above. If you need the Skin Deep link its here.
As for me, I'm combing the web for alternatives. If you've got any suggestions I would really love love to hear them. Until I have up a better solution I'm brushing with baking soda. Really.
SENSODYNE ISO-ACTIVE TOOTHPASTE, MULTI-ACTION
last updated: 10/01/09 brand: Sensodyne by GlaxoSmithKline
Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to one or more ingredients in this product -- not the product itself -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep. Legal Disclaimer
Ingredients in this product are linked to: | |
 | Cancer |
| Developmental/reproductive toxicity |
| Allergies/immunotoxicity |
| Use restrictions |
| Other concerns for ingredients used in this product: Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Miscellaneous, Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes |
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