Open Your Mouth And Say "Ack!"

I'm ever on the quest for a good toothpaste. There is nothing greater in life than a clean feeling mouth and tongue (yes, tongue - since wee high to a grasshopper I've just scraped using my brush bristles, but you can buy one of these yuppie tools) Clay is a wonderful cleanser, so a lot of times I just whip a few things up when the regular toothpaste doesn't seem to be cutting it. I just wish there was a really great natural toothpaste.

The other day though, I was running low and saw what was described on the package as Cherry Gel NATURAL TOOTHPASTE (their caps, not mine) with fluoride. It was from a company I had seen at natural markets (this was a standard grocery store, but in the organic section). I would have checked the box but I was in a rush and the name seemed to imply I was standing at the gate of just grown freshness.

I could not wait to get home and use it. I did, and it was good. Nice texture, it seemed to wick away the bad taste, and the cherry was pleasant. When I woke the next morning, I was surprised at how clean my mouth still felt. This doesn't happen with too many types of toothpaste. I was in love! All of my feelings were crushed to oblivion when I read the label to find methylparaben as the main preservative, and the somewhat more benign sodim lauryl sulfate (almost in all toothpastes, used for foaming, it can cause mouth ulcers) as the fifth ingredient in.

There is a very aggressive movement in health food stores to remove all parabens from shelves, as they were somewhat linked to breast cancer. So why is it showing up in a natural company toothpaste? Alternatives replacing parabens get a little dicey when using formaldehyde/formaldehyde donors, which are positively known carcinogens. And recently it was confirmed that sodium benzoate (which has always been rumored as dangerous but is the preservative in soft drinks, foods and many cosmetics raw materials) could damage mitochondria in DNA. Your very life links.

I don't know about you, but these three items are the last things I want to see in anything I eat or put on my body, let alone brush my teeth with. None of the above ingredients are in Solessence products. If I don't want to apply it to my skin, why do I want it swishing against sensitive gum tissue and possibly sliding down my throat?

Check out your toothpaste and let me know what you find. This is not meant to bash, just a bit of shock and awe, self-awareness exercise. We may all be in for a bit of a show. What do you use? Help me find a great alternative!