Plastic-Free Dental Care
Last Updated February 13, 2022
A daily dental routine can be full of plastic. From the toothbrush and its packaging, to the toothpaste tube, floss container and the floss itself, throw in a bottle of mouthwash and that’s a lot of waste. Use some of these options to make your dental care routine plastic-free!
Toothbrush
It’s estimated that 3.5 billion toothbrushes are sold globally each year. Switching to a plastic-free toothbrush is a great place to start in reducing some of that plastic waste!
Bamboo toothbrushes are a great alternative to plastic ones. For most bamboo toothbrushes, the bristles are still made of plastics like Nylon, but it’s better than the whole toothbrush being made of plastic. Oftentimes these are packaged in a paper box which can be recycled. You can find bamboo toothbrushes in health food stores and some major big box or grocery stores.
When the toothbrush has outlived its usefulness, pull out the bristles with pliers and throw them in the trash. Compost the bamboo portion.
There are some toothbrushes with board hair bristles which are 100% plastic-free and compostable. This option saves you from having to pull out the bristles with pliers.
For the vegans, there are toothbrush options with plant-based fibers.
Toothpaste
There are a few options when it comes to toothpaste including metal toothpaste tubes, tooth tabs, and making your own toothpaste.
Metal Toothpaste Tubes
You can find various brands of toothpaste in metal tubes that can be recycled. The cap is usually plastic but at least this gets you most of the way there.
They usually come with little rollers, so you can squeeze out every last drop.
Tooth Tabs
Toothtabs are mint-sized tablets that are essentially a dried form of toothpaste. You chew it for a second to wet it and then brush like normal. These normally come in a glass bottle with a metal cap, both which are recyclable.
Georganics is popular brand of toothpaste tablets:
Bite is another popular brand:
DIY Toothpaste
When I was first starting to go plastic-free, I made my own toothpaste. I ran the recipe by a certified dentist so it is dentist approved, but I would consult your own dentist to make sure.
- 3 Tablespoons of melted coconut oil
- 1.5 Tablespoons of baking soda
- 25 drops of mint essential oils
Stir to fully dissolve the baking soda. Pour into a storage container. I like to use a glass spice jar, but any glass container will work. Cool in the fridge until the coconut oil solidifies.
The only note from the dentist was that if you eat a lot of sweets, you might want a fluoride toothpaste to prevent cavities. I do not eat a lot of sweets, since most of it is packaged in plastic, and I brush well, so he said this homemade toothpaste will do the job.
Floss
For floss there are several brands of silk floss that come in refillable glass tubes. The silk floss is composable and usually the packaging is recyclable or compostable.
As a minimalist and engineer, I love the compact size of this sleek floss. I have an extra tube in my travel bag and it barely takes up any room, unlike the plastic versions of floss.
You can also buy refill spools when your floss runs out.
There are also bamboo silk and corn silk options available for the lovely vegans out there.
Dental Picks
I find that having a dental pick or scraper can be useful for things like tartar that floss doesn’t remove. Choose a metal version so that it will last longer and have to be replaced less often.
Tongue Scraper
I love a good tongue scraper. I’ve used a lot of plastic ones in the past before going plastic-free and they just didn’t get the job done. This metal version has been my favorite so far:
Plastic-Free Mouth Wash
I remember when I was growing up, Listerine came in a glass bottle. And like most things over the years, it switched to plastic packaging. You can still find a few brands of mouthwash in glass bottles but they usually cost more.
Another option, similar to the toothpaste tabs is mouthwash tablets. You simply dissolve the tablet in some water and use as you would mouthwash.
So, what do you think? Can you switch to a plastic-free dental care routine? If not completely, then how about just switching one component to a plastic-free option?
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