Fluoride toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.

[W2R]

Yep, played with mercury. Shot arrows straight up. Threw shotgun shell in the campfire. Drank from a water hose. Rode in the back of pickups. Hell, sledded behind pickups! And a fair number of other crazy things...

Not that I encourage any of that.

Nearly the same childhood I had! Well, minus the arrows and shotgun shells. Here's my version:

Played with mercury. Drank from a water hose. Rode in the back of pickups. Rode miles while sitting on the handlebars of my brother's bicycle as he pedaled. Climbed 25-30 feet high in trees and refused to come down for dinner. Sledded behind pickups. Went skinny dipping in the muddy Missouri River, which was probably full of chemicals for all I know. And more.

 

[ERD50]

...

I will be looking more closely/skeptically at GRAS ingredients in the future, quite frankly.

I think that skepticism is warranted. Look how many were grandfathered in, back in 1958, when we didn't know as much as we know now. From wiki:

On January 1, 1958, the FDA established the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, with a list of 700 food substances that were exempt from the then new requirement that manufacturers test food additives before putting them on the market.

...

For substances used in food prior to January 1, 1958, a grandfather clause allows experience based on common use in food to be used in asserting they are safe under the conditions of their intended use.

The FDA can also explicitly withdraw the GRAS classification, as it did for trans fat in 2015.[5]

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

... and even played often with liquid mercury growing up. ...

Not much to worry about, as it turns out.

I provided a bunch of links on this issue back on a CFL thread a while back. The CFL defenders were trying to downplay the small amount of mercury in a CFL by talking up how they played with Mercury when they were kids, so that 'proves' you don't need to be so worried about a broken CFL.

Don't have time to dig up the links now, but elemental Mercury can be handled, eaten, and even injected with little risk (the risk of clogging a blood vessel with the metal was more of a problem than getting mercury positioning from the injection). The body just doesn't absorb much that way. But the form it is in in a CFL enters the lungs and is readily absorbed.

-ERD50

 

[Mulligan]

Not much to worry about, as it turns out.



I provided a bunch of links on this issue back on a CFL thread a while back. The CFL defenders were trying to downplay the small amount of mercury in a CFL by talking up how they played with Mercury when they were kids, so that 'proves' you don't need to be so worried about a broken CFL.



Don't have time to dig up the links now, but elemental Mercury can be handled, eaten, and even injected with little risk (the risk of clogging a blood vessel with the metal was more of a problem than getting mercury positioning from the injection). The body just doesn't absorb much that way. But the form it is in in a CFL enters the lungs and is readily absorbed.



-ERD50

I dont know if it matters, but I played with the big bottle of mercury out of the science lab often, not with light bulb mercury. Dropping a huge handful of mercury and sweeping it up was much amusing to me in my childhood days.


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[Amethyst]

Meanwhile, Mr. A. and I, at dentist's orders, are using a fluoride/calcium "non-invasive cavity-reducing" product that stays on your teeth all night. It is an attempt to remineralize weak enamel, so cavities don't form.

I guess we are doomed.

GC MI Paste with Recaldent, MI-paste, How to remineralize teeth, Remin | Dentist.net

Amethyst

 

[Amethyst]

And ate random plants/flowers from my backyard (after reading about them first - I was 7). And rode in the back of the car, where there were no seat belts. And went for walks for miles and miles, all by myself, as a 13-/14-/15-year-old girl. Talked to strangers, who I met on these walks. That last one gives me chills just thinking about it, now.

Actually, the worst thing I did as a youngster was probably to inhale second-hand smoke in the home (growing up) and in the workplace. The potential long-term consequences still scare me.

Nearly the same childhood I had! Well, minus the arrows and shotgun shells. Here's my version:

Played with mercury. Drank from a water hose. .

 

[HFWR]

Actually, the worst thing I did as a youngster was probably to inhale second-hand smoke in the home (growing up) and in the workplace. The potential long-term consequences still scare me.

Inhaled a fair amount of "first-hand" smoke as well... B-)

This thread brings to mind an old bumper sticker: "In the seventies you did acid, now you won't eat white bread"...

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Meanwhile, Mr. A. and I, at dentist's orders, are using a fluoride/calcium "non-invasive cavity-reducing" product that stays on your teeth all night. It is an attempt to remineralize weak enamel, so cavities don't form.

I guess we are doomed.

GC MI Paste with Recaldent, MI-paste, How to remineralize teeth, Remin | Dentist.net

Amethyst

I've read about MI paste, but haven't tried it yet. Because I am blessed with soft(er) teeth and lotso cavities over time, I have been looking for the better preventative solutions. I'm currently using (gasp!) prescription strength fluoride gel (5000 ppm), and Novamin. We'll see how the next dentist appointment goes. If I continue to get cavities, the next step will be fluoride varnish, I guess. If fluoride varnish doesn't work, I'll look into sealants.

From what I can tell, only recognized weapon is fluoride, as long as everything else is done right (brushing, flossing, no sugar drinks, limit carb exposure.) It's difficult to get a straight story about preventative treatments for cavities. Both MI paste and Novamin are approved for sensitivity reduction, but not cavity prevention, according to ADA. With the amount of $$ going into dental restoration (fillings, then crowns) worldwide, you'd think we could justify some quality research into prevention. As NIH puts it, "Among the 22 studies addressing the prevention of carious lesions in caries-active or high risk individuals, the strength of the evidence was judged to be fair for fluoride varnishes and insufficient for all other methods. Among the seven studies addressing the management of non-cavitated carious lesions, the strength of the evidence for efficacy was judged to be insufficient for all methods. The results do not indicate that the preventive and management methods reviewed are not efficacious; rather, they demonstrate that not enough is known to determine the efficacy of the methods."

 

[H2ODude]

As a kid probably left deposits of about a full pound of elemental mercury in childhood home; probably would be declared a hazardous waste site if anyone tested. Dad, the chem-e, had us use carbon tetrachloride to clean the brass HO model railroad tracks. His stories of inhaling asbestos dust and getting doused with malathion would not support a life til 77. It was COPD that got him, but suspect it was the 60 years of smoking, not the asbestos that did it.

We have a contingent who want our local water utility to stop the fluoride; they pop up now and again. Utility is like, whatever. Hydrofluorosilicic acid, the additive is one of the nastier chemicals to handle and meter in a water plant. I liked the first utility I worked for, the groundwater there had 0.7 mg/l of fluoride, the sweet spot naturally. Never had anyone clamor for us to remove it.

 

[FUEGO]

Brewer, I'd ask your dentist what would happen if you stopped using toothpaste with fluoride in it. Maybe you get more cavities over your lifetime but that risk is offset by the slightly lower chance of getting cancer. I'd be more worried about additional fillings in my mouth that might have some carcinogens in them than the toothpaste I use every day personally.

Funny side note. While we were in Mexico we bought some Colgate toothpaste. It was labeled for a large number of different central and south American countries. For some, it was okay to use toothpaste for all ages, with supervision for kids. Other countries, it's not recommended for use by anyone under age 6 (risk of eating/swallowing the fluoride being the concern I assume). Not sure why Venezuelan teeth would be any different than Guatemalan teeth or Bolivian teeth.

 

[HFWR]

Don't need no fluoride, my toof is perfect!

 

[FUEGO]

Don't need no fluoride, my toof is perfect!

Toof, singular? Or you mean both of them are perfect?

 

[LOL!]

I guess bacon and sausage help prevent cavities, too. The way they work is that you die of cancer before your teeth get holes in them.

 

[AllDone]

Or take up smoking. That will get rid of those troublesome teeth much faster.

 

[Redbugdave]

I am one that has had multiple cavities in the past years. I now floss regularly and use a fluoride mouthwash after brushing every night. It seems to work. I have not had any cavities in about 3 years. For me, that is remarkable.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Not long before I retired I went to a lecture at out hospital given by a pediatric dentist. It was there I learned that topical fluoride is the ticket to preventing cavities. Also, no carbs within 30 minutes of going to bed.

He also recommended not completely rinsing out the toothpaste when brushing before bedtime, for the beneficial effect of the fluoride in the toothpaste.


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[John Galt III]

I had the fluoride treatment as a teen. Horseshoe bit on upper teeth for 10 minutes or so. Then same for lower teeth. Horrible taste dripping down throat. Still got a fair amount of cavities after that, at least 10 since then, mostly small, and have 2 crowns already (due to parts of tooth cracking off). I brush every couple of days with plain old tap water, no tooth paste. Dentists says whatever I am doing, keep doing it since it's working. (No cavities for a few years)

 

[Midpack]

Dr Bronner's soap and Tom's Toothpaste among other options. I've used Dr B's for many years, and frankly don't worry about SLS in our Crest ProHealth toothpaste as it's way down the ingredient list and we spit and rinse with water and mouthwash - so the amount we might ingest seems trivial. There are other exposures I'd worry about long before SLS in toothpaste or dish soap, but to each his/her own. I am sure I have some biases others would find silly.

There are several governing/reporting agencies, I am most familiar with IARC. If you look at the full lists of carcinogens, you may be horrified. "Probably" and "possibly" often just mean no one can prove anything either way. In my career I dealt with a chemical that was on the possible list even though there were dozens of studies going back 50 years of all types that confirmed the chemical was not a carcinogen. A few halfway credible studies that bring the chemical into question cancels out many more that seem to prove otherwise. It doesn't take much to wind up stuck in the middle/gray area.

• Group 1 Carcinogenic to humans 118 agents
• Group 2A Probably carcinogenic to humans 75
• Group 2B Possibly carcinogenic to humans 288
• Group 3 Not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans 503
• Group 4 Probably not carcinogenic to humans 1

IARC Monographs- Classifications

 

[Nunthewiser]

I recently "rediscovered" Pepsodent toothpaste which is, as you might expect, a dollar, at Dollar Tree. I love the taste, though seems to me they may have stepped on it to get it to a sawbuck.