A basic Macleans and a risky level of Fluoride (Macleans Toothpaste)

Member Name: channic

Product:	Macleans Toothpaste
Date:	27/08/08 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice smell and it will clean your teeth

Disadvantages: didnt freshen breath for long

I never really stick with one brand of toothpaste in particular instead I usually just go for the one with the best offers but out of all that I have tried I have always liked the Macleans a lot.
I recently bought the Macleans Cool Mint toothpaste with natural peppermint oil, from my local shop as it had 50% extra free and I thought it would make a nice change from the usual spearmint flavour toothpaste.
The contents of the tube were a white paste, which immediately smelled of the peppermint oil. I put a small amount on my electric toothbrush and began to clean. I didn't find the toothpaste had a very invigorating fresh minty taste as it promised on the packaging. Once I had finished my teeth felt fairly smooth but not as good as I would have liked. Also my mouth was left with a very mild mint taste that had disappeared in about half an hour. I have tried other toothpastes, which had a more abrasive consistency like the ones that use baking soda, and these have always cleaned my teeth well.

I think this is a good basic toothpaste, as it only cost me 85p for 100ml(50% was free) but it's not up to the usual Macleans standard as it didn't freshen my breath powerfully as the Macleans whitening does.

I also decided to compare the fluoride levels with another two popular brands and this is what I noticed.

1 Colgate Total plus Whitening with 0.32% 1450ppm of Sodium Fluoride
2 Macleans cool mint with 0.306% 1400ppm of Sodium Fluoride
3 Aquafresh multiaction and whitening with 0.243% 1100ppm of Sodium Fluoride

Now I don't know about you but I have never really looked at these figures before and I can't say that I really understand them, but all I do know is that Fluoride is recommended to prevent tooth decay
However when I recently looked into Fluoride a little further I actually found out that it's a substance that is more toxic than lead and almost as toxic as arsenic. Yet we are bombarded by every type of fluoride dental product including floss and mouthwash.


The World Health Organization warns that a chronic fluoride intake of 2.0-8.0 mg per day can lead to skeletal fluorosis, a debilitating and sometimes crippling bone disease.

Fluoride is even present in water, so who knows what our daily intake is and what we could be doing to ourselves.

As Manufacturers are allowed to include fluoride up to a concentration of 1500ppm, I am going to start rethinking the toothpaste I buy from now on and the level of Fluoride that I am in taking.

Summary: This is a basic and cheap toothpaste.