Are we really selling cactus toothpaste? Not quite but the the team here at the Natural Smile are really excited about the range of new oral hygiene products that we are now selling because they contain all sorts of natural products, including Aloe Vera, which looks like a cacti (but is actually a member of the Lilly family, but the ‘Lilly toothpaste’ just doesn’t sound the same!!).
The new members of the range are a toothpaste, a mouthwash and a lip balm and they contain extracts from natural products, such as (among other things) tea tree oil, xylitol, Aloe Vera. Aloe Vera has been used for a long time as an anti inflammatory agent, so in this case could help sooth gums, xylitol is a plaque inhibitor, which is beneficial in a toothpaste and tea tree oil has been used as an antimicrobial and anti inflammatory agent.
But as good as it is to have these great natural products in the new range, it is just as exciting to not have one ingredient in the new range, that is Soduim Lauryl Sulphate or SLS as its known.
SLS is a surfactant and lathering agent, and there is some evidence to show that it is an irritant to skin, can cause a recurrence of mouth ulcers and possibly reduce the effect of the fluoride in the toothpaste.
Our new range uses a different lathering agent, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate which despite sounding the same, is a completely different compound. It does not have a sulphate group instead it has the amino acid ‘sarcosinic acid’ (also known as sarcosine – a derivative of glycine metabolism) found naturally in the body, this results in a far milder ingredient that is not known to cause any irritation.
So why not come in and try the Alodent range of toothpastes, mouth washes and lip balms! Not a cacti in sight!