Green Options » teeth

The Twelve Days of sustainablog: Poop, Green Teeth, and Pimpin’ Your Ride

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:37:24 +0000

June’s most often associated with weddings, summer vacations, and Father’s Day… as you can see by the headline, we went in some other directions that month, too.

Summer was here, and the living was sustainable… and here are some of our best efforts.

June 2008

Caroline Savery declared that one of the top rules of living sustainbly is “Have fun!”
Zachary Shahan offered a new twist on “think global, act local”: sustainability starts at the inidividual level.
Mark Winstein answered the question “What is an investment product?”
Low Impact Living listed 10 Ways to Cut Home Energy Consumption.

Radius Makes Your Smile Brilliant, Naturally

Courtney Carlisle — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:35:08 +0000

Let’s face it: American’s have an obsession with white teeth, and what better way to get those pearly whites clean than with the ultra-comfortable wide head Radius toothbrushes. I initially spied them in my local Whole Foods and was curious about their HUGE heads.

When I finally decided to test them, they turned out to be comfy, comprehensive and eco-sensitive. Not a bad combination. The Original lasts 3x longer than a regular toothbrush; the handle is also made from renewable materials (and have been for 20 years). Their Source toothbrush not only has a handle made from renewable material but also has a replaceable head which uses up to 1/5 the material of a regular brush.

Both brushes have extremely comfortably shaped heads to reach all those nooks and crannies between your teeth and ergonimically designed grips. The Original comes in fun colors, like berry and lime, while the Source has an earthier feel. They range in price from about $7 for a single to $38 for a 6 pack and accomodate righties and lefties.

Focus on Fluoride - Too Much of a Good Thing?

mcmilker — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:18:42 +0000

Parents, always on the look out for healthy products for their infants, may want to think twice before buying those that have added supplements. It all sounds good when we see products advertised to boost baby brain power, provide needed minerals and protect baby’s growing body…but sometimes it’s not.

Fluoride is a case in point.

Cavities used to be a fact of life for children growing up in the U.S. However, with the advent of fluoridated water in many municipalities, this is no longer true (in fact, it caused a bit of a crisis in the dental community as pediodontists saw their income declining).

Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral in all waters sources, oceans, lakes, and streams, was stripped out of water treated by municipalities for years. In the last few decades, driven by new research and supported by the American Dental Association, fluoride has been added back into the water supply, resulting, it is claimed, in the drastic reduction of childhood caries that we see today. However, now fluoride is also present in toothpaste, salt, 100% juice drinks, sodas, and even chicken and fish. And, increasingly manufacturers are adding fluoride to products marketed to children and advertising them as “good for growing teeth”. This may in fact cause more harm than good.