Dental Resources for Vegans
I’m looking for the perfect zero waste, vegan & cruelty free toothpaste – it has to have no plastic packaging, contain fluoride at a level between 1400-1500ppm, and have a strong minty flavour.
If you have found the perfect zero waste vegan toothpaste then please let me know in the comments below. If you make vegan toothpaste and would like to send me a sample then use the contact form to get in touch.
Calcium is an essential mineral important in bones, teeth, blood, muscles and nerves.
Teeth begin calcifying (hardening) from the 4th month of pregnancy and most are completed by 16 years of age (22 for wisdom teeth). Fully formed teeth also use calcium to build more dentine throughout life and in their limited capacity to react and repair in response to tooth damage.
Your diet should include 700mg of calcium each day. A rich and varied plant based diet will easily provide enough, since calcium is readily available in loads of plant based foods including:
Calcium is needed both to grow strong teeth and bones, to maintain strong bones, and to enable teeth and bones to repair and react to damage …and milk famously is a source of calcium. However there any many other dietary sources of calcium …and there is evidence that milk consumption is associated with significantly higher risk of hip fractures, cancer, and premature death.
Tooth decay is caused by bacteria fermenting free sugar into plaque acid which in turn dissolves calcium from teeth. This makes tooth enamel and dentine increasingly soft and weak until the surface collapses, leaving a cavity. Eating more calcium unfortunately will not prevent tooth decay if you are having lots of sugary snacks and drinks …but using a fluoride toothpaste and avoiding sugary snacks and drinks between mealtimes will harden your teeth and help tip the balance away from this process of demineralisation in favour of remineralisation – re-hardening of teeth.
This page explains what to look for when searching for a vegan toothpaste, where you can buy them in the UK, and which are the best toothpastes to buy as a vegan.
Unfortunately, not all toothpastes are vegan. Some contain animal derived ingredients and many are sadly tested on animals.
There are so many toothpastes available, it can be hard to choose which to buy. The vegan market is currently exploding with new products with confusing labelling and marketing hoping to make a quick buck from the growing support for the vegan movement.
I hope this page will equip you with the information you need to cut through the marketing and find a safe and effective vegan toothpaste for you and your family to use.
Of course everything vegan is also vegetarian, so this advice applies for vegetarians searching for vegetarian toothpaste in the UK too!
From my point of view as a vegan dentist, a basic fluoride toothpaste is all that is required for most patients.
Ignore packaging and marketing that play “natural” ingredients against “chemicals”. Its a common meaningless ploy, used in attempt to differentiate products in a crowded market. Chemicals are not inherently bad. Water and oxygen are technically chemicals. Instead the poison is in the dose – meaning too much of anything can be bad. Even too much water can kill you.
Fluoride is often thought to be a “bad chemical”, perhaps “artificial”, “man-made” or an “additive”. Yet we only know about the benefits of fluoride for teeth because it naturally occurs in some water supplies.
The basic science behind toothpaste is well understood: Fluoride is the key ingredient.
Fluoride in toothpaste works mainly by strengthening tooth enamel and dentine to make them more resistant to plaque acid. This reduces the risk of tooth decay, slows down existing decay, and even helps to reverse very early decay.
No other ingredient will be as effective in preventing tooth decay, including charcoal, bicarbonate of soda, aloe vera and coconut oil.
Worryingly though, most vegan toothpastes are fluoride free.
Its important that toothpaste contains an effective but safe level of fluoride at 1000-1500ppm for children and 1400-1500ppm for adults.
Yes. Fluoride is vegan.
Yes. At the levels used in toothpaste, fluoride is very safe to brush your teeth with. Don’t eat a tube of toothpaste.
Cruelty-free vegan fluoride toothpastes available in the UK, offering good protection against tooth decay with the correct level of fluoride:
Coop, Superdrug and Tesco own brand toothpastes are obviously only available to buy in their own stores. Ecodenta and Kingfisher toothpastes are available to buy in many health and vegan orientated stores, as well as Holland and Barrett, Boots and many chemists. Colgate Smile for Good range is available to buy in most big supermarkets. Humble toothpaste is available direct, at Ocado, Holland and Barrett and other websites. Waken toothpastes are available direct, from Ocado, Boots and other websites.
This page is continually under development. Please give a 5 star rating if you found it useful, share any useful reviews and suggestions by leaving a comment, and follow me on Instagram.
Next: Should you switch to a bamboo toothbrush?
These toothpastes are cruelty free vegan toothpastes containing some fluoride, but the fluoride is below the recommended levels for adults. They might help reduce your risk of dental decay but they don’t offer the same protection as the good toothpastes with fluoride at the correct levels (above).
These toothpastes are marketed as vegan and/or “natural” toothpastes, but do not contain fluoride and so might help freshen your breath but will not provide any protection against tooth decay:
This page is continually under development.
Please give a 5 star rating if you found it useful, share any useful reviews and suggestions by leaving a comment, and follow me on Instagram.