Brushing your teeth twice a day is a crucial factor in maintaining proper oral health, but there are many options in choosing the tools you use to do so. At the Dental Group of Simi Valley, we are committed to sustainability, and we know that everyone needs to work together to help save our planet.

Around five billion manual plastic toothbrushes are thrown in landfills each year, and electric toothbrushes are even worse for the planet because the process to make them has a larger carbon footprint and produces more chemical pollutants. In addition, the batteries they use are almost never disposed of properly. Compostable and recyclable manual brushes, often made of bamboo, are much more sustainable!

There are a number of ways to upgrade your oral hygiene routine to make it more sustainable for the planet. Let’s look at toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss that is more environmentally friendly.

Sustainable Toothbrush Brands

We’ve collected some of our favorite sustainable brands that you can use today to start reducing your waste and carbon footprint.

• Brush With Bamboo: Brush with Bamboo’s handles are made of ethically-sourced bamboo (and not the kind that Pandas like to eat) and their bristles are 100% castor bean oil. The handle is compostable, but although the bristles will biodegrade, they shouldn’t be thrown into a home compost pile. Remove them with pliers if you’re composting at home.
• EcoFrenzy Bamboo Toothbrushes: These brush handles are made from bamboo and the bristles are made from nylon. In a pack of four brushes, each comes numbered so that they can easily be told apart in the bathroom.
• Perfect Bamboo Toothbrushes: Made of bamboo with nylon and charcoal bamboo bristles, this pack of twelve brushes for under twelve dollars is a great money-saving option.
• Zero Waste Club Bamboo Toothbrush: Zero Waste Club carries an impressive variety of zero-waste products. Their bamboo brushes sport replaceable heads, so you can keep the bamboo handle for as long as you like! Their nylon bristles can be sent back to the company for recycling.

Sustainable Flosses

As we’ll tell you at the Dental Group of Simi Valley, flossing is a crucial part of maintaining proper oral hygiene. However, like plastic brushes, plastic floss boxes have a marked negative effect on the environment. We’ve collected some of our favorite sustainable brands.

• Lucky Teeth Vegan Floss: Lucky teeth makes a large variety of oral care products, many of which are sustainable. Their vegan floss is made of bamboo fiber and contains activated charcoal, a natural antibacterial.
• Etee Waxed Silk Dental Floss: Etee’s silk dental floss is made of 100% mulberry silk, candelilla wax and natural peppermint oil and is completely biodegradable.
• TEVRA Vegan Floss: Made from corn, this vegan floss is completely biodegradable, and it’s packaged in a glass bottle made of 100% recycled glass.

Sustainable Toothpaste

You need toothpaste for your toothbrush, and old plastic toothpaste bottles are just as harmful to the environment in creating waste as toothbrushes and floss containers. Here are some of our favorite, more sustainable alternatives.

• Etee’s Chewpaste Club: Etee’s chewable toothpaste tablets are made from entirely natural, vegan ingredients and come in a glass jar. Refill tablets come in a compostable pouch. This is the best pick for easy travel.
• Ecoroots Toothpaste Tablets: Completely natural and paraben free, these tablets come in a glass jar as a two month supply for 14 dollars.
• David’s Natural Toothpaste: This popular brand comes in a 100% recyclable aluminum tube with no environmentally harmful lining inside. It’s completely natural and is an EWG Verified Product.

Dental Group of Simi Valley Cares About Sustainability

Whether or not you’re planning on changing your brushing materials, it’s important that you visit your dentist for regular cleaning and care. If you’re in or near Simi Valley, California and in need of a dentist, come see us. At the Dental Group of Simi Valley, we’re committed to your oral health and leaving you with a beautiful, sustainable smile.

If you have any questions call us at (805) 522-6020 or stop by our office at 1720 E. Los Angeles Ave. Suite 202, Simi Valley, CA 93065. We look forward to helping you maintain your dental health.