Which one should you avoid?

One of the things that we agonize over, especially in our clinic is sanitation and hygiene. With the number of frequent handwashings required during a typical day, the use of an appropriate handsoap is critical – drying out the natural oils can cause hands to dry and crack, opening up sores that will enable invasion of pathogens and increasing the risk contracting communicable diseases.
With the horrible bout of the seasonal flu that burned through Orillia and Barrie over Christmas, the importance of hand sanitation is even more important than ever before. I discovered that there is an additive in some of the handsoaps (and even certain toothpastes, underarm deoderants) that bioaccumulates. Meaning that the stuff just collects in your body for a very long time, essentially forever. The results of this toxic bioaccumulation is bad.

Antibacterial Handsoap Study Findings For Dentists

Two studies failed to demonstrate a difference in antibacterial effect between plain and antibacterial soap! Infact, the antibacterial component often used in antibacterial soap, Triclosan is especially worrisome. Triclosan was being used in any cosmetic products from soaps, toothpastes, deoderants and is being banned from several states in the USA since 2014. The way that Triclosan works was to bioaccumulate at the cellular level – one theory observed that bacteria would imbibe Triclosan until their cell walls bursts.  Much like an ballon overfilled with water. Unfortunately, as with any agent or ingredient that works in this manner, the bioaccumulation of Triclosan will often ampllify as we move up the food chain.

Stick with more natural ingredients in your handsoap – natural aloe vera extract found in several commerically available soap preparations is a much better alternative as aloe vera acts as a bacterial inhibitor and nature’s ‘band-aid’. There’s a laundry list of other bioaccumulative ingredients that I’ll touch on with future posts – let me hear your comments below!

Georgian Dental® is dedicated to holistic dentistry for whole body health and have been taking a leading role in the dental community to help our patients achieve holistic health goals. Through our holistic  MercuryRescue™ process and convenient evening hours, Georgian Dental® Orillia and Georgian Dental® Barrie can help you Get Your Smile In Style!. Call us today! For Barrie Dentist at Georgian Dental® Barrie, call (705)739-6725. For Orillia Dentist at Georgian Dental® Orillia, telephone (705)325-1765.