Nobody likes going to the dentist, let’s be honest. It’s physically uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. Plus, as we age, do dentists ever have good news for us? Sometimes it feels like every visit just brings up a new problem that will cost hundreds of dollars to fix if our insurance won’t cover it. It’s a constant battle between our natural fear over our own health and our knowledge that sometimes dentists and doctors push treatment for things that might not actually be life-threatening. Money doesn’t grow on trees, after all.
Well Emily Lallouz is pretty young and she hasn’t gotten to that stage yet — the one where every time you go to the doctor or dentist, something is wrong. So when she went in for a routine tooth cleaning and found out she needed a root canal, it was a surprise. Then she went in for the root canal and the dentist found yet another problem, although this one is one we wish our own dentists would have talked to us about a long time ago.
Get ready for a little-known, but seriously useful bit of dental health information that we are actually really glad that Lallouz decided to share with the internet after her appointment! She went in for her routine irrigation after her root canal, and the dentist asked her if she used Crest toothpaste. She thought this was a really strange question until the doctor showed her why it was being asked.
IMAGE SOURCE: THE SCIENCE EXPLORER
Lallouz’s dentist used magnifying mirrors to show her the little blue “microbeads” that had built up under her gums and between her teeth. These tiny blue balls are those blue flecks we see in our toothpaste. They are most common in Crest, but can also be seen in some of the other leading toothpaste brands as well.
IMAGE SOURCE: MOTHERJONES
They are supposed to improve the cleaning ability of the toothpaste, but apparently this dentist has noticed that all they really do is get stuck in teeth and gums. Even when they do get spit out eventually, or swallowed and digested, animal rights activists have been complaining that they end up in open waters and are getting ingested by fish and other wildlife.
And toothpastes aren’t the only beauty and hygiene products using these same kinds of beads. They can also be found in scrubs, acne washes, hand soaps, lotions, and more. Here are some examples of the more popular products containing the beads.
It sounds like it might be a good idea, both for your own health and the planet’s to quit using these products altogether. Yikes!
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