Aro Ericsson

Apologies, I inadvertently skimmed over the part where you mentioned "activated charcoal". It's worth making it clear anyway, I suppose.

If you recognise the potential consequences of not using fluoride toothpaste, but choose not to use it anyway, then that's not a problem. In my opinion, the cost-benefit analysis pays off highly in favour of its use, but ultimately it's up to the individual.

Nowhere have I said that you specifically cook with coconut oil. I am simply stating that anyone who might want to cook with coconut oil, or take it as a supplement, should be aware that its health benefits are often wildly exaggerated, and there's a chance that it may be harmful in the long term.

I would like to refer you to a few studies about the dangers of flouride, but rather than link all of them, I will simply refer you to only one of many links where several legitimate studies are quoted. Some of these studies are by the ADA (American Dental Association) itself and include observations about flouride dangers by dentists. I have known for years that flouride was not something to be used lightly. As a physical anthropologist, I have seen first hand what flouride can do to bones and teeth. In fact flouride is so persistent in bone that it can be used for dating biological remains. Personally, I lump this in with optical brighteners and hydrogenated fats as something I do not want or need in or on my body -- ever.

Firstly, 97% of cases of fluorosis examined by the study references in your link were mild, and all cases were dental rather than skeletal. Mild dental fluorosis poses little threat to health or quality of life.

Secondly, the study is concerned with consumption of fluoridated water by infants. This is largely unrelated to the safety of the use of fluoride toothpaste by older children and adults, as babies are much smaller than adults and as a result less fluoride is required to produce adverse effects; in addition, drinking fluoridated water results in much larger fluoride intake than using fluoride toothpaste.

There is extremely strong evidence that the fluoride toothpaste prevent caries. See the results of this meta-analysis:

http://www.nature.com/ebd/journal/v4/n2/full/6400176a.html

Fluoride is toxic. Just like water is toxic. All things are toxic in sufficient quantities; it's the dose that makes the poison.

Fluoride plays a valuable role in preventing caries. I would not recommend foregoing fluoridated toothpaste due to health concerns, which are for the most part unfounded.

Also your information on coconut oil is outdated and incomplete. Yes, it is a saturated fat, but the latest studies indicate that not all saturated fats are equal in being "bad for you". There are literally hundreds of articles out there quoting study after study about the benefits of coconut oil in the diet -- particularly in warding off heart attacks and stroke. Just search for them and you will see for yourself.

Looking through the studies on PubMed, it does seem that it may have positive health effects. I would still err on the side of caution, and for daily cooking use olive oil, or a similar oil with very firmly established benefits to health, until further research on the precise long-term effects of coconut oil is done.

I do not necessarily advocate the use of charcoal (and yes, I do know how it is made, having made it). I have never used it myself, and probably never will, but it is listed in a number of old recipes for toothpaste, and was actually the preferred tooth powder additive of Benjamin Franklin. (It is still used in many third world countries.) I mentioned it only as a possibility. I would expect anyone willing to make their own toothpaste to do research as well, and not blindly follow the advice given by anyone here -- myself included.

Actually, allow me to elaborate a bit on that point. Activated charcoal, which is extremely pure carbon, approved for medicinal use, is probably safe. However, putting in your mouth the sort of charcoal you buy in large bags for use on the barbeque, or charcoal you've made in your own charcoal burner, is not very wise.

Here:

https://permies.com/t/8394/frugality/toothpaste

I tried to keep the post both civil and informative, and I wasn't given any warning as to why it was made invisible (assuming it was a deliberate action).

I made a post in the frugality forum in the thread "toothpaste", but it only shows up when I'm logged in. Is that a security measure with new accounts, or was the post itself objectionable?

I wouldn't recommend using any toothpaste without fluoride, especially if your water isn't fluoridated. Fluoride has an important role in preventing acid damage.

Jeanine Gurley wrote:Coconut oil is supposed to be very good for you both topically and internally.

Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which any doctor will tell you is not good for your general health, or for your arteries in particular. Using a small amount of it as a base for toothpaste probably won't cause any damage, but using it for cooking, when there are much healthier oils available, is not a good idea.

Deb: you say aluminium oxide might be linked to Alzheimer's, but please note that prolonged use of charcoal as a toothpaste ingredient may well result in mouth cancer. Charcoal is produced by slow burning of wood, it is an impure form of carbon. Some of the impurities, such as benzene, are extremely carcinogenic. Chalk is much safer.