TOOTHPASTE tablets?
Why not, when they offer a green alternative to the toothpaste tube that may litter the environment, is difficult to dispose of and certainly not recyclable nor biodegradable in its present state.
Its present state of packaging is made of aluminum and plastic whose raw materials are traced to petroleum. The tubes disintegrate in time into microplastics that takes years and years to break down, if ever, and turn up instead in the oceans and the environment.
Microplastics endanger wildlife and threaten to contaminate the very food that we, our children and the next generations will eat.
The production of the toothpaste tubes require electricity mostly produced by burning coal and fossil fuel which produces carbon dioxide. This pollutant gas contributes to climate change and global warming.
Today, the clean and green mindset is pushing “unpaste” (toothpaste) tablets forward.
Especially if the tablets are packaged in reusable and eco-safe containers.
Toothpaste tablets are small and chewable. Bite and the tablet turns into paste. Brush. What can be more simple – and greener – than that?
Made of formulations that are similar to the conventional (fluoride and non-fluoride) toothpaste-in-a-tube (xylitol, calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and derivatives of tartaric acid), the tablets are just as effective.
We have to put a caveat to that statement. Without clinical trial data, toothpaste tablets have not been endorsed by the American Dental Association. And not by the Philippine Dental Association – yet.
Portability is an advantage. Instead of what may now look like a bulky tube, toothpaste tablets in a small container or bottle is certainly easy to store and bring around the house and outside when traveling.
Chewing toothpaste tablets prior to brushing is an acquired habit; that is, it may take some time before the habit becomes familiar.
Saliva and water, of course, are necessary. This may be an issue for people with dry mouth.
“Toothpaste tablets can be costly compared to tubed alternatives,” says Sudip Saha, the cofounder of Future Market Insights (FMI) and cited in a dentistryiq.com report.
“This is expected to hold back sales despite the environmental benefits of tablets.”
The information in this column is based on a latest report on Toothpaste Tablets Market by FMI, a business intelligence and consulting firm.
“Manufacturers can make inroads with investments into clinical trials to generate scientific data, while collaborating with dental health professionals to promote these products.
“Healthy dietary habits, including low sugar, low acid foods, and flossing, are important for consumers to get the best results with toothpaste tablets. They’ll also be helping to save the planet, one tablet at a time.”
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the UE College of Dentistry, former Dean of the College of Dentistry, National University, past president and honorary fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy, and honorary fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists. Honorary Life Member of Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515./PN
