Episode Summary: This discussion on toothbrushes is an excerpt from a previous episode ‘Toothpaste, Dentistry and Plastics’ 

Have you ever thought about the environmental impact of your daily habit of taking care of your teeth?

Jenn, Leekei and Rob discussed the environmental impact of taking care of our teeth as well as plastics contained in toothbrushes and dental floss.

To listen to the full episode of this conversation, go here 

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Rob Slater, Jen Swanson and  Leekei Tang

Rob is from Birmingham in the UK, he is an orthodontist, triathlete, coach and podcaster.

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer and Community Connector, helping people help themselves. 

Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert and podcaster from Paris, France. 

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

I'm an orthodontist.

Uh, so I treat, , adults and children.

So my main role is, uh, straightening teeth.

We also get involved with, uh, tooth whitening as well.

And I've been an orthodontist since 1997.

So it's my 25th anniversary this year.

Congrats.

So

what is the biggest thing that you're noticing and what is your

pet peeve in this whole thing?

I suppose one of my things that worries me most , is the toothbrush

issue because people are changing their toothbrush on a, quite a regular basis.

, , some people are changing their toothbrush every three months, every

six months and, that's needed.

So there's a need for people to keep , their mouth healthy.

And so that's my prime role, but, uh, I feel terrible that, uh, this.

So many toothbrushes are made outta plastic.

That's the bristles , and the handles.

And there are, there are alternatives there.

, and so bamboo is one of the, , materials that's used a lot in toothbrushes.

And I, I would like to have some part in changing that.

Uh, but having invested in some bamboo toothbrushes, there isn't

really that much of a market for them.

So people.

Necessarily buying them.

So we do point it out.

And, we mention it to our patients and slowly people are starting , to buy them.

But, if you buy toothbrushes, even if you buy bamboo ones, you

still have to be careful because.

If you want to completely get rid of plastics, sometimes the

bristles are still made of plastic, even with the BR bamboo handles.

And sometimes the, the bristles are made out of animal hair as well.

So that's another thing , to look out for, and it's not always made that

obvious in the product information.

So, , again at the moment, I think that, , there, there are companies

doing these things, but until it really scales up, uh, we have a

problem of supply and demand really.

I always use bamboo toothbrushes.

And I also use that dental lace that you, you pop the refill

into a glass, uh, little.

Holder that has the, the cutter for the lace.

and so when I go to the dentist, I always, say, no thanks when they

try to give me stuff at the end of the appointment, because I.

Getting it myself, but it's a lot more expensive, you know, when you

can get a free toothbrush and dental floss from the dentist at your six

month or eight month appointment, , it's more expensive to spend $5 or

whatever it is on a bamboo toothbrush.

And then the dental lace and the dental lace is also, it breaks really easily.

So there are definitely some areas that could be improved in

the, the natural replacements.

I think.

And I, I think that if patients want to do something that they

can talk to their dentist and say, why don't you provide these?

And just put that bit of information inside the dentist's head to make

them start thinking about, Hmm, maybe I should look and see what is there,

but it comes down again to, um, a supply and demand thing that if.

I was actually offered by a company to have some bamboo

brushes at one pound each, but I would have to buy 10,000 of them.

and storage wise,

we could realize stuck for years and years if we weren't selling them.

So it just, it, it just didn't make sense to do that, but, uh,

we are waiting and I think it it's a reasonable thing at some stage.

If there is the market.

But what about the, the regulations because , it's

a non fact that it's made of plastic and it's not recyclable.

And so is there any lobby that works towards, , making it illegal?

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