Oral care: Davids, I like your squeezable tube

But first, a brief history lesson on oral care:

“Around 3,000–5,000 B.C., ancient Egyptians first developed a dental cream which contained powdered ashes from oxen hooves, myrrh, egg shells and pumice,” Frank Lippert of the Indiana University School of Dentistry wrote in a 2003 monograph. “Persians then added burnt shells of snails and oysters along with gypsum, herbs and honey around 1,000 B.C.”

“As long ago as 3000 B.C., the ancient Egyptians constructed crude toothbrushes from twigs and leaves to clean their teeth. Similarly, other cultures such as the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Indians also cleaned their teeth with twigs. Some would fray one end of the twig so that it could penetrate between the teeth more effectively.” —Wikipedia

In 2021 C.E. (A.D.), I went searching for a plastic-free toothpaste. Mostly what I found were powders and tablets. They were…not what I wanted. Interestingly, options were scarce since I wanted something with fluoride—important to me and recommended by my dentist and dental hygienist. Fluorine is divisive, so you do you. But twist, my recommendation is surprisingly fluoride free.

Initially I tried a powder and did not like it: Too gritty and seemed no better than plain old baking soda (aside from the fluoride aspect). I don’t remember the brand.

Next, I tried tablets, which I preferred over the powder, but they also didn’t seem to clean as well as a paste. For travel, though, tablets are great options: You can bring what you need based on how many days you’ll be gone. I tried both Hello* and Unpaste brands, and my main takeaways are that Hello is minty-er than Unpaste, but Unpaste comes in a compostable pouch instead of an infinitely recyclable metal tin.

*As of this writing, it seems the fluoride option is no longer available.

The option I like best, though, is Davids toothpaste. It comes in a metal tube with familiar squeezability and I've had great dental checkups since using it. It’s not totally plastic free, since the cap is made from recyclable HDPE plastic. All Davids toothpastes are fluoride free, including the one I chose, which contains nano-hydroxyapatite:

• Hydroxyapatite is a naturally occurring calcium phosphate compound and the main substance of our teeth

• Nano-hydroxyapatite remineralizers and repairs tooth surface as effectively (or moreso) than fluoride

• It is dentist approved (I even checked with my own dentist and dental hygienist)

• Study is published in Hydroxyapatite Dental Material from the National Library of Medicine

In the photo above, you'll see a metal tube key. Return 20 of these to Davids and they'll send you a free tube of toothpaste. Or, repurpose the key for other metal tubes you might have.

This post is limited to the products I've tried personally, and the good news is that there are plenty of sustainable options out there. I'll call out that I'm not a fan of "recyclable" plastic tubes. Knowing that less than 5% of plastic is recycled, that's not a win. Happy brushing! I’m sure I’ll have something to say about toothbrushes, flosses/flossers, etc. in a future post.