We should all be aiming to make as many areas of our life eco-friendly, and the one we’re going to be focused on today is oral hygiene. These are such simple changes that we can make to our routine that can make a big difference to our environmental impact, so get ready to learn about a few simple swaps!
Get A Bamboo Toothbrush
The first thing you should do to make your oral hygiene routine more sustainable is to get a bamboo toothbrush. Over 1 billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown away each year, either going into landfill or oceans, which can be really dangerous for the environment and the animals in them.
Bamboo toothbrushes are a fantastic alternative, they don’t cost much more and last just as long in terms of how long you can brush with them for. However, the really positive difference is that you can bury your bamboo toothbrush into your garden and in 5 years they should decompose, or if you put them into a compost bin, it can happen in as little as 4-6 months!
There are quite a lot of companies out there who are claiming to create environmentally friendly bamboo toothbrushes, however, you need to make sure that they are BPA-free, cruelty-free and sourced ethically. Perhaps next time you visit the dentist, show them the toothbrush you are considering getting and they will help you to make the right decision in terms of safety for your teeth.
Turn The Water Off
If you leave your tap on when you are brushing your teeth, then turning it off each day will make a huge difference to both your water bill and your environmental impact. When you leave the tap on when brushing your teeth, this will use about 5 gallons of water, which is 3,650 gallons over the year, or the equivalent of 16,593 litres! To put this water waste into perspective, that’s the same amount of water you would drink over the course of 12 years.
This is a huge amount of waste that is completely avoidable, so simply switch your tap off whilst you brush your teeth. This will be helping the environment, but it will also help you to save quite a bit of water over the year for not doing much at all.
Try Toothpaste Tablets
Another thing you can do to make your oral hygiene routine more eco-friendly is to try toothpaste tablets. They are a fantastic alternative to toothpaste tubes which are often heavily packaged, as they come in recyclable packaging. You simply put the toothpaste tablet into your mouth, chew it with a small sip of water and then you’re ready to start brushing! Just make sure that your toothpaste tablets contain all the healthy ingredients your teeth need, again, it might be worth double checking with your dentist to make sure they’re going to look after your teeth.
Final Thoughts
Before you choose to make any of these changes to your oral hygiene routine, you need to make sure you consult your general or cosmetic dental clinic to make sure they are suitable for your mouth, teeth and gums specifically. However, these products are very similar to those you likely already use, so you are unlikely to have any issues.
