Eco-Friendly Dental Hygiene For The Family

Ingraining positive dental habits is a crucial part of raising a healthy family. Unfortunately, many of the products used in modern dental hygiene have a detrimental environmental impact. According to National Geographic, 1 billion plastic toothbrushes are disposed of every year in the USA. Many of these end up in the oceans. When taken alongside toothbrushes and picks, that’s a huge amount of waste. Smart devices are providing an alternative for modern families.

Changing the toothbrush

Toothbrushes are the most easily identifiable item in the bathroom, and also the most commonly disposed of. This creates a great opportunity for families to change their habits in one of two ways. The most affordable and basic option is the now ubiquitous bamboo brush. It takes only 6 months to degrade, according to the HuffPo. Furthermore, industry experts have noted that bamboo brushes are effective, even when compared to classic plastic brushes. Electric and smart-brushes help you take one step further. They also help eliminate waste entirely. The latest generation has the astounding capability to fight oral disease. For kids, a bamboo brush can be something new and interesting with a fun backstory to boot.

High-tech floss

Flossing remains an important part of dental hygiene and can be a fun thing to teach the kids. It’s also a huge polluter, with very few floss strings being degradable. This has changed with a back-pedaling of technology. According to NY Mag, silk floss is becoming widely available. It has two benefits. One: it’s softer on the gums, meaning less chance of bleeding. Two: it’s completely biodegradable, plus it lasts longer than nylon flosses.

The water pick

Water pick, oral flosser, oral irrigator – there are plenty of terms for the jet-water powered tools springing up in bathrooms. They all achieve the same thing. They use a jet of water. They spray debris and bacteria away from teeth to be rinsed off. These tools are arguably the most eco-friendly mouth-cleaning option of all. According to Grist, they tend to be very water-efficient. They are more so than swilling the mouth out or wetting a toothbrush. They are energy efficient, too. The life cycle of a water pick will contribute less carbon than that of a disposable brush, for instance. Perhaps most importantly, they offer a fun activity during teeth cleaning time for excitable kids. And if you’re with a water company like American Water, you can be sure you’re being as healthy as possible as the water is great quality.

Dental hygiene is not something that people want to compromise on. As a result, technology has filled the void in interesting ways to provide environmentally conscious options for families. Degrading slower, and with longer periods of use, these new products are transforming the bathroom.

In this day and age, there are a plethora of different ways you can reduce your impact on the planet, from basic recycling principles to switching to a clean energy provider (check out CleanChoice Energy reviews, for example). Switching to eco-friendly dental products may be one small step, but everything adds up.