Green and Healthy Mouths- Dental Floss

Written by Cathy on October 29, 2008 – 6:30 am -

Welcome back!

It is amazing how many of those dental picks with floss are laying out on the street. I use them my self, but swore I would never buy them again- after picking up 100’s of them in the street. But after reading about how bad dental floss is for the environment and the problems it causes- I might have to go back to lying to my dentist again about how much I floss! 

I Just Gotta Tell Ya 

  • 3 million miles of dental floss sold to Americans every year. 
  • Only 24% of Americans use dental Floss 

Floss Trivia

  • Invented by American dentist, Levi Spear Parmly, who was born in Braintree, Vermont, on August 29, 1790.
  • Silk continued as the desired material for floss until the introduction of nylon in the 1940
  • Native Americans used yucca-leaf fibres to make dental floss, 

Why is it Bad? 

  • Most dental floss is made from nylon or Teflon and the thread is coated with waxes to ease your path to healthy gums. This super-strong thread won’t degrade so it shouldn’t be flushed down your toilet. It can contribute to a blockage in the pipe between the sewer and your home. 
  • Floss (most notably Crest Glide) is made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),[3] an ingredient that also provides the coating in non-stick cookware. The uproar over Teflon is well known as is concern over a chemical used in Teflon’s manufacture, called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
  • Floss picks cut down on the actual amount of floss needed, using only one inch instead of 18 per use, but the handles for floss picks are also made from petroleum-based plastics of various types. This means before the manufacturing process even starts, raw petroleum must be shipped from the Middle East to refineries, then from refineries to manufacturers. Whether by air or sea or land, shipping that kind of distance means serious pollution. 
  • Plastic packaging usually is a Code #5 for plastic recycling- although many do not come with a code written on them. 

What’s the Answer?

  • Use Less
  • Use Recycleable or biodegradable
  • Reuse the floss 

Why You Should Use Natural Dental Floss 

  • Ingredients found in nature are used to coat the floss, not eco-unfriendly chemicals including synthetic wax which may be petroleum-derived.
  • It’s free of harmful chemicals such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) whose manufacture pollutes our air and water.
  • Makers of natural dental floss often follow green business practices, such as using recycled packaging and harnessing renewable energy sources like wind power.

Where to Buy – All Can be Ordered Through Amazon 

Eco Dent – Have 2 types of Floss – Gentle and Vegan- Eco Friendly Packaging. Order online or available through Natural products stores. Or order it online from Amazon - 

Radius Source- spun with natural beeswax sold online through Amazon 

Dentek   Natural Floss Pick, the first sustainable, 100% biodegradable/recyclable floss pick on the market. The handle is made of a resin made of starches from sustainable, renewable resources like tapioca, potatoes, and wheat grown right here in America’s Midwest. This bioresin is just as durable as petroleum-based plastic, but will decompose in less than 180 days in commercial composting facilities. As a result, DenTek Natural Floss Picks are the only floss picks on the market that meet the required biodegradability standards to receive the Biodegradable Products Institute seal of approval.

Dessert Essences- he Desert Essence floss is naturally waxed (no animal ingredients). The floss is saturated with 100 percent pure Australian tea tree oil which has antiseptic properties.

Bryton Reusable Floss 

Resources 

American Heritage 

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Posted in Health and Beauty | 5 Comments »


5 Responses to “Green and Healthy Mouths- Dental Floss”

  1. By Miesha on Jan 16, 2009 | Reply

    These are some good ideas on how to make your own toothpaste. Now do they taste good?

  2. By Ann on Jan 30, 2009 | Reply

    Great article….I see tossed dental flossers everywhere … nasty. I’m using Brytonpick – reusable and recyclable flosser which works absolutely the best of all!

  3. By M on Mar 17, 2009 | Reply

    dentek makes a biodegradable floss pick. Maybe that’s what I keep seeing everywhere. I still think it’s disgusting. My tampons are biodegradable too; should I just litter them all over town after I use them??

  4. By Bill on Aug 20, 2009 | Reply

    You don’t say what the Desert Essence floss is actually made of. Is it biodegradable?

  5. By S on Nov 24, 2009 | Reply

    The picks may be biodegradable but I dispute the autho’s use of the word “sustainable” here. She forgot to consider the energy input that’s required to produce these things.

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