Denttabs

My last toothpaste tube finished 2 weeks ago, so in an effort to remove plastic from another area of my life, I decided to buy a fortnight's worth of Denttabs from the Plastic Free Weigh.   I was very excited to find an option with fluoride, as most plastic free toothpaste does not have fluoride.  I was a bit worried about using them for the first time but I was really very pleasantly surprised.  You chew them at the front of your mouth and them scrub as normal with a wet toothbrush.  I was so impressed with how clean my teeth felt.  If you are used to using Aquafresh (as I used to) then the lack of foam in the mouth is a bit weird.  Denttabs are a bit more like Oral B; they don't froth up, but still leave your teeth feeling clean.   

I spoke to a dentist about switching to the tablets and was given a bit of advice (no different really to normal tooth paste but a good reminder): "spit it out afterwards and don't rinse your mouth with water - you want to keep some of the fluoride in your mouth."  The fluoride content is the same as standard toothpaste which was essential before trying something new.  Avoiding fillings is really important to me as I've been told the waste that dentists create when doing a filling is huge compared to just a check up. 

The main issue with these Denttabs was the cost: at £1 for 2 weeks' worth of denttabs for me, this is a lot more than my tube of toothpaste at £1 (Home Bargains) which lasts the whole family two months!  It's a shame as this seems prohibitively expensive.  Other than the cost I am completely converted, a great product.  As such, I have opted to use the Denttabs only for my evening cleaning session and toothpaste in a tube in the mornings.  This will not be something I am rolling out across the whole family.

These are great for adults but I don't think they are so good for children where you are meant to give them only a small piece of toothpaste; could you break them in to quarters, grind them up and make a paste?

If you do use toothpaste tubes I have just found out there are toothpaste recycling points.  I have only found one so far but am very exciting.  I am told they take the tubes and turn them in to garden furniture.  This one is in Wilmslow at LJ Natural, just in the entrance.  Not only do they take empty tooth toothpaste tubes they also take toothbrushes.  This new revelation makes me feel slightly less guilty about using toothpaste in a tube.