Children’s Toothpaste And Artificial Sweetenters

I can’t remember exactly when I started brushing my son’s teeth/gums, but I believe it was sometime during the later part of his first year. I was a Gymboree Play & Music class and we used to have a “question” time as part of each class where the teacher would ask a question and all of the moms would go around the room and answer it. This week’s question was on brushing your child’s teeth. All I remember thinking was “Am I supposed to be brushing his teeth?” The thought had never occurred to me! So I went to the store, bought some “children’s toothpaste” and started the routine.

Well, my son is now four and in an effort to encourage “independence” while brushing his teeth, we have gone back to the “toddler toothpaste” which he loves. He will brush away as long as he can lap up all of the yummy berry flavored toothpaste.

One day, while he was brushing away, I was a little bored and started reading the ingredients on the back of the toothpaste container. We used the Orajel Toddler Toothpaste in the Thomas tube. I was shocked and extremely dismayed to realize that the toothpaste that my son was using – specifically designed for young children – has SACCHARIN in it! Not just any artificial sweetener, but the very one that was banned for so many years because it was determined to cause CANCER!

WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY CHOOSE TO PUT ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS IN CHILDREN’S TOOTHPASTE??

I can’t believe I have been using this toothpaste on my son’s teeth for 4 years (on and off) and never before did I even dream to CHECK THE LABEL to see if it had anything bad in it. It is DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN after all! So I went to the store and checked out all of the brands of toothpaste targeted at children – EVERY SINGLE ONE contains SACCHARIN. Recently I was in Canada and stopped in a drug store there too. I thought for sure Canada would have a ban on saccharin in children’s toothpaste, but to my dismay, they are all full of saccharin up in Canada too.

Just the other day I was at my local grocery store and asked one of the employees to help me find an organic toothpaste that was fruit flavored (I can find the mint ones, but my son hates those) and didn’t contain fluoride (because my son still swallows the toothpaste) and also was FREE OF ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. Well, we looked all around the toothpaste aisle and the only saccharin free brands had fluoride. So this sweet girl helping us said that there were other toothpastes in the baby aisle. So we trekked over there and found that low and behold – they do exist – there were actually TWO different brands of toothpaste that were free of artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and fluoride! And they were fruit flavored too!
I let my son pick which one he wanted and he picked the JASON’S Natural Products Organic Kids’ Only toothpaste. He loves it! And I love it even more because it is free of all of the hazards that most companies are putting into products targeted at children!

Here is the description:

* Kids Only!
* Wheat and Gluten Free
* Sulfate, fluoride and Saccharin Free
* No Artificial Colors or Flavors

Jason Kid’s Only! Toothpaste delivers fun fruity freshness and an easy to squeeze tube. Delicious Natural Orange flavor keeps the kids coming back for more. Calcium Carbonate keeps teeth clean and healthy.

When was the last time you looked at your children’s toothpaste? Have you found other resources for healthy alternatives to the ‘big name’ brands?? Please share them by leaving a comment on this post.

7 comments to Children’s Toothpaste And Artificial Sweetenters

  • GHC

    I went through the same thing with my girls. I personally try to avoid all artificial sweeteners, but i didn’t realize that they were putting them into kids toothpastes until after I was using it, and teaching my girls to brush their teeth.

    Needless to say, we switched mid-tube. Of course, they weren’t too happy about it because the next stuff we used didn’t taste as good, but that’s ok.
    .-= GHC´s last blog ..The Health Benefits of Calcium Orotate =-.

  • Logan

    Thanks for this article- i had no idea! I’ve called several different stores and I’m having some trouble finding the JASON toothpaste. Can you tell us what was the 2nd brand that was good?

  • Hi Logan,

    Tom’s of Maine has toothpaste without artificial sweeteners, but they do have fluoride. Finding one without both is difficult. You can buy the JASON brand on Amazon. Here are some others that I found online:
    With Fluoride:
    Natural Dentist Toothpaste
    Tom’s of Maine with Fluoride

    Without Fluoride:
    Tom’s Natural Fluoride Free
    Kiss My Face Fluoride Free
    Earth’s Best Toddler Toothpaste Strawberry & Banana

    Good luck finding one near you – you might want to try a health food store or Whole Foods Store. Or in your grocery store, look in the organic section or baby section instead of the toothpaste section. — Judy

  • […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Judy Masucci, Judy Masucci, Dagmar Bleasdale, NYC Doula Service, Yvonne Bailey and others. Yvonne Bailey said: RT @MommyNews: Children's Toothpaste and Artificial Sweeteners – Be aware of what is in your chiild's toothpaste! http://bit.ly/aJpJA0 […]

  • The problem that I had with toddler toothpaste is that my daughter likes the taste, and tries to eat it off of the toothbrush. Every time, it was a struggle to get the toothbrush back out of her mouth. Can you believe that they claim that the fluoride-free toothpaste is safe to swallow even though it contains saccharin? Nowadays, I will only use a toothpaste that is accepted by the American Dental Association. If I don’t see the ADA symbol, then I would sooner go without and just use a toothbrush moistened with water.
    .-= pfstock´s last blog ..Is Toddler Toothpaste Useless Junk? =-.

  • Jason

    Interesting article.

    I am sensitive to the taste of saccharin (and it gives me a headache) so I was pretty shocked when I licked the excess toothpaste off my finger and immediately tasted saccharin.

    What is wrong with these manufacturers?

    However, although I found a brand with no artificial sweetner or flouride, actually I think that it is beneficial to have some flouride in the toothpaste and this is now the given advice by medical professionals.

    The problem I have is that I can’t find a childrens toothpaste with a small amount of flouride and no saccharin in the UK. I also really don’t want to go down the fruit flavoured route since I would like my son to understand that is isn’t food.

    Any ideas?

    Jason

  • I hear you Jason. It is very difficult. If you want a more “toothpaste” tasting safe toothpaste, I recommend Toms of Maine. My son doesn’t like it – so we go with the fruity kinds – but I don’t think any of the natural ones have fluoride. If you want just a little bit of fluoride – you could also use a fluoride free toothpaste, but then give your child water with fluoride added. Our local water has fluoride added to it, so we don’t need any in our toothpaste. Best of luck to you. — Judy

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