Bite Toothpaste Bits: A Toothpaste You Can Chew?

According to Colgate, 20 billion toothpaste tubes are thrown away every year globally. Yeah, I know 20 billion. Oh my god. So tree hugger, which is a website, it's a really good website uses the example to put it into context, that 1 billion oranges would fill a sports stadium completely. So times that by around 20. And that's every year. And it takes 500 years for a toothpaste to decompose. Oh my god. So toothpaste tabs are supposed to help with that. But what the heck are toothpaste tabs? And are they actually more eco friendly? Or is it just green hooey? Get ready to find out when we look into bite toothpaste bits. Welcome to greening up my act. So what did the ink okay, I use? I've been using Sensodyne for years, and I realized I wrote on the back, saying that you're only supposed to use it for like two weeks at a time. And I was like, Oh, okay. I think you mentioned that. Yeah. So but it does, I get buy in bulk from Costco. And I have, you know, 10 tubes, and it'll ask me for tubes or something. And I will ask me forever, I use like a pea sized amount. I'm not like, right. toothpaste commercial squirter, you know? Yeah. Yeah. But it is it is kind of interesting. Because it's like, if there are 20 billion, yeah. Which, it was kind of hard to find that number. To be honest. It was like, I mean, this is what Colgate says. So I'm right. Okay. Okay. Sure. Well, like, but it was a lot. I mean, either way, it's a lot even would have been, it would be three tubes a year per person on earth, kind of. Yeah, at least. Yeah. Yeah. At least three. There a billion people on earth? No. I don't know. Number of people. Only 7.8. Okay, so. Yeah. So it's, it's kind of interesting. And I have tried buy toothpaste bits, which is why I wanted to talk. But first, let's chat about my sources real quick. Okay. First one was my dentist. Oh, good sores. Yeah, I went to the dentist, just perfectly timed last week, and I asked him about bite. And so then I use bite toothpaste, website and blog. And then bite had like an impact study. So I looked into that. The Environmental Working Group rates a bunch of products, we use them a lot for different things that we've reviewed, and they rated bite. Then I found actually on baits website, they linked to this study. It's in the Journal of a dontist a mat to logic sciences. And it's also an Italian anally de stomatology, which honestly is like easier to say. Yeah, I was gonna say sometimes the Italians better. Yeah, I'm like, what is that English word? That's insane. But they did a literature review of this certain chemical that we'll talk about. Oh, boy. Yeah, it's kind of interesting. Eagle harbor dental just has a blog, but they also talked about that same chemical. I watched a real quick snippet of Shark Tank. Oh, it's all over the board here just just dipping into the pop culture. All right. Yeah. Fast Company talks about Colgate creating recyclable toothpaste tubes. Okay. There was a fluoride study. I looked at the Colgate study. Again, tree hugger talked about toothpaste tabs. CNN reviewed bite. And I looked at B corp.net. Because I didn't really know what a B Corp was. The Guardian I real quick review or read something about carbon offsets. And then finally there was a study from Trinity College Dublin and the Eastman dental Institute at University College London. sexcellent. So we're going overseas today. It's what you're telling me? Yeah. Well, it seems like the UK cares has so many more studies about just sustainability in general. So a lot of the time I'm finding stuff from the UK, which is fine. It's just like it's UK specific and You just have to kind of multiply it by right and many more million people we have. Yeah, unfortunately. Okay, so what is it? What are these toothpaste tabs? Have you ever tried these? No, okay, because this is the thing I was I was just talking to my roommate about this before we started and he was like, oh, what's the subject tonight? I was like toothpaste as he was like, like Listerine strips. No, right. Yeah. It's yeah, so it's like bite calls there, tabs, bits. So they're, I think they're just trying to keep keep bite toothpaste bits, but they're basically a little white tablet. They look almost like a big pill. And it's a version of toothpaste. So it's basically just like dehydrated toothpaste. And it comes in a glass jar. So that's where their sustainability tries to come in. Okay. They you can order refills. And they come in compostable packet. And then you say, so your glass jar. Okay. One of their versions comes with fluoride, which is a whole thing, right? And one comes up, most of them come without because they started not using fluoride. And then I think it was because of public demands that they created one with, because there's a lot of overlap between the people who hate fluoride and the people who care about the environment. Okay, you might know more than I do about this, because I didn't really get into fluoride because it's such a topic. Yeah. It's like, Oh, my God, there's just too much there. There's so yeah, I've talked to people who aren't really into conspiracies who like because there's a lot of I will say fluoride is not put in our water to control our minds. Well, yeah, that's the thing it like really can go off the rails. Yeah, I know that for a fact. I also know, in public health. Just because the work I've done in public health, it is important to have fluoride in the water because so many, especially children don't have access to dental care. And so fluoridated water can actually save children's lives because they keep they keep their teeth. So Right. It is important public health, especially in our country where we have I mean, dental is a health insurance and you can pick extra you know, it's not it's an it's so important. Did your health Yeah. So, you know, people living in poverty definitely don't have access to dental services. And it is it's really bad. So yeah, it is it is a public I think fluoride in the water is an important health thing. I mean, I yeah, there's a whole thing on it, because even my dentist has some interesting things to say about fluoride. Okay, yeah, but again, I didn't go super deep into it. Yeah, that might be just another episode. Yeah, it's very fraught. I did it and there are people who are you know, we have too much fluoride in our water we don't need it as much as we get it, you know. And I will say there's a very good chance that our public systems aren't you know, doing a very good job of going through with fluoride in the water you know, I'm sure it's not managed as well as it could be because it is a low priority for most people but right i i won't say that we do it perfectly. Yeah. And I know that I don't know if I wrote down the year but yeah, I don't remember the year. I want to say it was relatively recently that I think it was the CDC that decided we needed less fluoride than we actually yeah, because I think it was like from the 1970s that they decided the the amount and then yeah, new information, new studies came out or whatever, and they're like, oh, wait, we actually have way too much fluoride in our water. Yeah, so I think that's very likely. Yeah, I won't ever come out and say that we shouldn't be fluoride in the water at all. I haven't done enough research, honestly. To know why you should be worried about fluoride. Right? I do. I do know some very smart people who are opposed to fluoride in the water. I have an interesting he won't drink any tap water, like pa at all. And he's a very smart guy. So right he's not he's not like a conspiracy theory. So like, there's something there probably I don't know enough about I will say that right? I won't come out against Florida in the water just for children living in poverty who need it, you know, to have their teeth like unless we're going to really do something about that. Which America apparently isn't interested in. Yeah, I'm right pro fluoride in the water for now. So yeah, I get that. Come at me, bro. Yeah, yeah, I think you'll probably remain remain that way. But we'll get there after this podcast. Hopefully we're not trying to change your mind about fluoride in the show. This this season? Yeah, it's not a mind control. Yeah. Anyway. So okay, the creators of bite we're on Shark Tank. And they actually didn't get funded because their sales were already really good. And none of the offers were worth it for them. Okay, that's fine. Um, but I think a lot of companies, it helps to go on Shark Tank, right? Even if it gets a word out. I mean, even if you don't get funded Yeah, that's yeah, no, PR is bad PR. So yeah, yeah, it did not hurt them for sure. It was launched in August of 2018. And when the founder Lindsay McCormack decided to make her own plastic free and natural, natural, quote, unquote, hire somebody who eats or whatever, toothpaste tablets, so she made them from her home, I think, Oh, yeah. Well, she began ham pressing toothpaste bits in her living room. But she's also not a chemist, or a dentist, says that she completed online chemistry classes and consulted with dentists and in Shark Tank, she said, we're friends with them. Nice. So my my best friends are dentists. Yeah. Okay, great. So take with that, you know, take what you will from that. And it seems like their goal is twofold. And ever since I bought from them, I have been confused. And I haven't used them for a couple of years. I stopped using them. Mostly for the cost. But okay, I was gonna say I just looked at their website. And I want to say, can we go over what their name is real quick. Yeah. Bite stands for because it's the earth. I didn't even know that. Oh, my gosh, I did not find that. Yeah. And just just and maybe we should have done this at the end. I know. We're just talking about the toothpaste tabs, but they have expanded they sell. I do talk a little bit about their other okay, but I just their website gives me real green Hui vibes and just gonna say, because it's the earth we brush our teeth. I guess. That is so funny. I didn't. I don't know how I missed that. But okay, glad you found it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that's what I was saying. Like, it's okay. So because of that, like, ever since I bought them I was like, okay, we can get into one of one other product because it's related. They sell vegan floss. Yes. Which you probably is. What's what you saw one of it? Yeah, I ordered that. And it sucked. Like, beyond, I actually felt like it was ripping my teeth out. And I don't know, I heard from somewhere that you shouldn't, If your teeth are really close together, which I'm like, isn't that the goal. But you shouldn't use vegan floss. It literally like I felt like I was hurting my teeth. And I so I couldn't use it. I ordered it got a little glass jar couldn't use it. Wanted to figure out some way to use a glass jar. And something happened and we'll get into that later. So, yeah, so their goal seems like it's sort of a two fold goal. One is to avoid harsh chemicals like fluoride, okay, or they name a bunch of other chemicals off that they're trying to avoid that are supposedly in toothpaste. And so most of their products, their toothpaste bits, instead of fluoride, they contain nano high Doxy appetite, or inap, which is much easier to say and yes. Because of that, because of the whole fluoride thing, because of whatever so that's number one goal avoid harsh chemicals. Number two goal. I don't know what order they're in, maybe it's the other way around, but they also want to avoid unsustainably sourced ingredients and plastic packaging. So, it's definitely dual focus, which I have mixed feelings about. Oh, yeah. Especially in this case, because, again, the studies are, I think inconclusive, and we'll get into it. Okay. It because it kind of seems like they're trying to solve too many problems at once. It's sort of like, like, focus, like, yeah, just I don't know. Yeah, make a toothpaste that works. That doesn't come in a plastic tube. Exactly. Let's do that. That's how I feel. But maybe other people appreciate that. I mean, again, it's it's it's an issue we've come up with a lot in this podcast is do we focus on the health concern or the ecological concern and they are they do go hand in hand. Sometimes you don't always often. Often. Yeah, yeah. But not always. No. Okay. And yeah, it is. It kind of feels like I don't want to say disingenuous, or like selfish or something. I don't know. What it is, like more human focus than it is actually, like Earth focused. Yeah. And so I just I don't know, if the two focuses can really go hand in hand, a lot of that I was gonna say, just looking at their suite of products, I don't think you can be an eco friendly brand and buy into consumerism. Like, the buildup of like, you can't sell that many throw away edible products. I mean, even if they are, quote unquote recyclable or sustainably packaged, edible or whatever, yeah, you can't sell that many products and be Pro Environmental. It just, I don't think you can do it. You can't. Are you saying capitalism and sustain consumerism go I would say consumerism, yeah, well, I mean, capitalism as a system, whatever about my own issues with it, but consumerism as a lifestyle and eco friendly living? can't coexist. Yeah. And, you know, capitalism is, you know, consumerism is a leg on which capitalism would stand I would say something like that. Yeah, I, that gives me the, the X, anyway. Yeah, no, I, I I'm there with you. Yeah. So real quick, does it work? Okay. Yes. Actually, not super quick, because we're talking about in hap a lot. Bye. All right. Do they actually work? Because I think that was one of my big concerns before I bought the stuff because I was like, Is this actually okay to use for my teeth? Is it actually gonna clean $10 on toothpaste? Yeah. Yeah. And I will say my teeth felt very clean when I used it. And I wouldn't say that they felt cleaner than regular toothpaste, but about the same, which is not a bad thing. Right. Some people say, oh, there's so much cleaner. And I'm like, I think not. SIBO Yeah, yeah, it's also really depends on your brush. But I Yeah. Are you using your electric toothbrush? Yeah. So I felt weird about not using fluoride. So I asked my dentist, and he said, he looked at the ingredients. And he said he didn't know why they added in happ because it's a chemical that's used after surgery to encourage cells to regrow bone. Oh, wow. Okay. And to be clear, he was very, very clear that he didn't know enough about it. But that was his initial like, Huh, that's weird. He's like, I would have to look into it. But I don't know. I think he actually said I think I would prefer fluoride over that. But you know, he hadn't read all of the studies out there. But it was interesting to me. In half is actually what enamel is mostly made out of. So yeah, and there's this. So it's, you know, a lot of places call it like organic, they call it true to our human biology or whatever you the hell you want to say. But bite links to this journal, that really complicated name journal that says that, oh, this app is great. It's awesome for dentistry, etc. But they were very clear about how it's still experimental. Okay. And they also say, quote, We must, however, take into account the limits of an in vitro study, which is one of the studies they did a literature review of a bunch of the studies. And as it is far from stimulating the conditions present in the oral cavity, so one, yes. Okay, sorry. Yeah. So well, no, it's just like one of the studies was like, not the correct conditions. So you're not brushing your teeth, you're growing a baby. Those are very different conditions. Yeah, and just point out to our listeners, your uterus, and your mouth is not your tooth. Yeah, very different conditions. Extremely, extremely different conditions. Just a little biology lesson there. So I found this study very weird, because then you know, well, it was a literature review. But the next study that they talked about, they did say that it has significant remineralizing effects on initial enamel lesions certainly superior to conventional fluoride and good results on the sensitivity of the teeth, but it's still experimental. Yeah, so I don't love how bites website uses language like it's a filter only better yeah, it's definitely this is definitely that as they say, really? I think they're setting themselves up for a class action lawsuit there. I hope God for they're saying gosh, yeah, Yeah, I don't know. I don't know, man. I mean, there was a review where this person had used it for a couple of years. And they said that it worked really well. And they had great dentist visits every time so I would love it in the end I grew and a whole new row of teeth. Yeah, have four rows of teeth. Now my dentist is so excited for me. He's like a shark. Yeah. That's not a side effect of and halftone. And don't you know, that'd be amazing if that was areas. Yeah, cuz a lot of it in the interest rate is like after oral surgery, then you use it for bone regrowth, whatever. But interesting. Yeah. The so is it toxic? I don't know. Like they say it's organic. It's composed of what you know, bone is made enamel is made of. But then like, Eagle Harbor, dental has this blog. And they talked about in half. And I said, it's non toxic in toothpaste, but the primary issues with hydroxyapatite come into play when it is being taken as a supplement. I don't know when you would take it as supplement issues or oral surgery. I wonder? Maybe I don't know. But issues that can arise include headache or fatigue, dry mouth, frequent urination, flushing or sweating and stomach discomfort. So it doesn't seem like it's like cancer? Yeah, it's not like you're not growing another limb or something. Yeah. But it's frustrating because the Environmental Working Group, the place that rates all of these products, they don't analyze in hap, yet. They haven't looked into it. I was probably really hoping that they did they use I think they use existing studies. Dante, I have no clue. To be honest. I think that's where it because a lot of their when you look through their stuff, a lot of their stuff is like inconclusive. It's just, yeah, that some of it does say like no data. Yeah. So they'll like flag something and be like, we don't know what this does. And I think it's because they kind of conglomerated studies that exist already. I don't that would make sense. I mean, who has time? Or money? I mean, yeah. Yeah. And another thing on Shark Tank, they were talking about no fluoride, and they said, it's good for our bodies and the planet. And it's like, okay, based on the data based on the research, let's that's a little far. Yeah, a little far fetched. So I feel completely neutral about Grant Hap. I feel like, I don't have enough data, not data. Exactly. Yeah. So another interesting thing, though, that my dentist said is that he's like, yes, I would prefer fluoride over this just based on what I know. But fluoride has super limited benefits. So he he my dentist actually said that salt and water is usually good enough. And baking soda and water is also okay. And that he's like people in rural areas considered toothpaste a luxury for a long time. So that's what they did. Yeah. And they use charcoal still in a lot of places in India. Yeah, and actually charcoal is in a bunch. I think bite has charcoal. Yeah, I think there's like crest even has charcoal. Yeah, actually. COVID. So, like, you've already got abrasives and as you don't eat charcoal, too. I don't know. But yeah, but I found that so interesting that my dentist was telling he's like, honestly, that's gonna get you basically exactly the same as your most expensive toothpaste out there. What that is crazy. Oh my God, not what I expected him to say. So and I do really trust him. But again, it's one dentist. So every four out of five dentists agree. He's that fifth dentist who's like don't buy the COVID surely use like just good salt, dude. He's the descent. Okay. So how easy are they to use they're actually super easy to use. You just put them in your mouth. You bite down on them, chew them up a little bit and then you brush. So basically just adding saliva? Yep. Yeah, you're just yeah, you're making it a little bit wet. They're also nice because you can travel with them. Yeah, there's a TSA don't care as long as a label probably. Well, I think because they're not liquid. They don't care. Right. I was gonna say like, you had a little container of them they'd be like is that myth? Meth doesn't come in pills. I don't know drugs people. Is that your meth pills or opiates? Interesting che Panetta She's smelling opiates are the pills but anyway? Um, yeah, I have never had a toothpaste tube be confiscated no matter how big it is, but maybe I I know so you're a brave lady. i Yeah, they usually only confiscate like expensive perfume or your water bottle. So, right, your like reusable water bottle? Yeah. Have you had toothpaste taken? I only had a little trouble with it. Yeah. Or I asked the hotel to give it to me or whatever. Alright. kindness of my traveling mates, or my parents or whatever. Right. I probably have. I usually take the small ones do I just I don't think about it. I don't know. So yeah. Your glasses. Interesting. But yeah. I mean, I could see like, if you could just put it in a little pillowcase, you know? Yeah, you could just take if you're going for like a four day trip. Just take like, eight of 10. You know, it's always good to have you never know. I take extra pills, because I'm like, just in case just like underwear. You know? Yep. I'd only brush my teeth two times a day at home. But I might come across a moment where you need four times Keanu Reeves shows up on a Friday. The Pope is going to interview me for I don't know what Yeah, you never know. Okay, so let's get into the juicy stuff. Is it actually eco friendly? Or is it just really good marketing? So the EW G rates bite a three out of 10 which is wow. Oh, good. Oh, okay. I was like, oh, sorry. I want one being good. I mean, that's the opposite of our granola. Yeah, it is. Well, they have different ratings for their like household products and their skincare personal products. So yeah, 10 is like the worst. Okay, he is or one is the best. Okay, so it's three. So that's pretty good. But they, like I said, they don't analyze and Happ. And that's one of the big ingredients, right? So as mentioned, 20 billion toothpaste tubes are thrown away every year globally. And because of this tree hugger, a website that I respect, they really love toothpaste tabs. And it is a certified B Corporation, which like I said, I didn't really know what that was. So I looked it up. And it's basically a business that meets high standards of verified performance accountability and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. So they look at all sorts of stuff, including sort of the sustainability factor. Okay. It's certified, it's B Corp, they get analyzed, I think, every year, I don't know if it's every year, but every so often, and they have to keep up specific practices. So okay, they're certainly not the worst company out there. Yeah, um, but also, they do talk a lot about their carbon footprint and buying carbon offsets, which a lot of companies do. So this is not, you know, unique to them. But we're going to have to have an episode dedicated to carbon offsets, because it is a whole load of green hooey. Yeah, unfortunately, unfortunately, I wish it wasn't. But the Guardian said the vast majority of environmental projects most frequently used to offset greenhouse gas emissions appear to have fundamental failings suggesting they cannot be relied upon to cut planet heating emissions. Okay, so that's just an overview. Okay, fair. They talk. So yeah, bite talks a lot about the carbon offsets, but it's like, no, that means literally nothing to me. Yeah. It is what it is. They did say that in 2022. Alone, they successfully diverted 75,000 pounds of plastic waste. Okay, which is pretty good. 75,000 pounds. I wonder how much the math on that? How many billions? I know how much is a database to boy. Right? I mean, I think last I read, they have around like 50,000 customers, I'm not sure. So it's not like they're taking over the world and everybody in the world is using them. But you know, they call their refill systems circular, which I suppose you could say it is because of their compostable packaging, but we've talked about compostable packaging and it usually needs to be composted in a industrial facility or else it's just basically plastic. Right? which most people I don't think no. Yeah, again, we go back to our trash bag issue, right? Things listed compostable read the fine print doesn't mean you just throw it in the backyard. Right? Yeah. I mean, You could try but your compost heap would have to get really hot. Yeah, to compost most compostable packaging. So give it a shot, he can always pick it out and set your house on fire by accident, but okay. You don't want the combos eat to get that hot. You know, like, that's true on taneous combustion. Hi. Oh my god, that would suck. So, another interesting thing that I ran across was that Colgate is starting to, to create recyclable tubes, toothpaste tubes, and I had seen this because I use Colgate. And I had seen it and it says, recycle me on the tube. And I assumed that that meant you have to clean it out. You have to do all this stuff. Take it to a facility because actually, what is that? Shoot. It's not read? Well, it's like one of the other ones. That's more TerraCycle. Okay, they have like, drop off facilities around me that I saw for Colgate or for toothpaste tubes. Okay. And so I was thinking, Okay, I gotta take it to them. Blah, blah, blah. Actually, you don't have to clean it out. The toothpaste oil, right. Yeah, it's water soluble. So the toothpaste like while they're doing the recycling process will just go away. And it's made of the same high density polyethylene, which is the same as like super recyclable milk jugs and bottles. Oh, and it was kind of cool, because they figured it out. And yes, it's still plastic. But they figured it out because they layered, really thin layer, like a couple of thin layers of this and that made it squeezable, and it's honestly the same, like, I would have never known that it was a different kind of material. You're not like feeling and you're like, oh, there's two puzzles. It's not like breaking apart. A Hoard. Yeah. The cap is made of number five plastic, which is notoriously not recyclable. Okay. Good to know. I'm looking into that. But it's interesting that it's Colgate because only some of Tom's of Maine which is like the hippie dippie company, only some of their tubes are currently recyclable. And again, Colgate, it's not. It's not all of their tubes. But I think they're trying to get there. I don't know. They're also currently working on creating refillable tubes, which I prefer, but yeah, I mean, Okay, interesting. Just a little bag. Yeah, so I just found that kind of interesting. The only problem is, as we've mentioned, plastic recycling is about a load of water. The creation of plastic on the front end, is still bad to Yes, how we make plastic causes damage, as well. So Right. So they're still being made, and then recycled, which is a process in itself. That's yeah, and a bit of a pointless thing. Yeah. I mean, it's a pointless, but it's just, you can recycle plastic, like one to three times or something. So it's not an ongoing thing like aluminum that you can recycle forever. Right? Isn't that a solution? But I did kind of appreciate I don't know, I still I mean, okay, better about Colgate? Yeah. Which maybe is the point. I don't know that. They have a great marketing and r&d department. They work hand in hand, they do very well. Exactly. Maybe they listen to our podcast, I doubt it. But you never know. So, you know, this is kind of entering more mainstream, this idea of becoming more sustainable, but let's get into a little bit of like, how much it costs? Yes, that? Yeah. Okay. So 240 bit for it. Sorry. 248 bits is a four month supply. And it is $48. Which is $12 per month. Currently, it's on sale for $32. I don't know how long that sales gonna last. Or if that's just one of those, like, perpetually marked down pretending that it's actually you know, like sales tactics. I don't know. But their original price is 48 bucks. $12 per month. And, oh, boy, that's a lot because God is a lot. I compared it to Colgate Total toothpaste, clean mint. 9.6 ounce to back. So a two pack of Colgate for $7.92. Okay, and that'll last you. Three months, three months. Yeah, I would think you glob it on maybe while you're brushing your teeth every twice, four times a day. Jana Reeves, as we all know, yeah. He's always around. I mean. Leave us alone. gums are hurting go away, like this. So Oh, the cost is that's like I said, that's why I stopped because it was just, it was pretty outrageous. I think so. Now let's get into a little bit before I get into the granola rating in the recommendations going forward, vegan floss. Like okay, urgent, side side side trip. Yes, I've trip to vegan floss and bamboo toothbrushes. I'm going to start by saying this feels like when they put vegan and gluten free on the sides of water bottles, like, Oh, I didn't know there were meat products in my No, I didn't. What? I truly when I first saw vegan floss, I was like, realize it's because maybe I'm an insulting vegans, I don't know. But it's because floss is either made from silk, which is comes from worms. Yes. That's definitely not again, okay. Yeah. Or it's made of like plastic and it's coated in wax. Okay, so wax comes from honeybees, honey, honey bee. Oh, I guess honey. I mean, there's other types of I guess there's plastic wax? I don't know. I mean, that's the idea. But I just find it so weird. Like said I'd range? I haven't. I guess it makes sense. I mean, I respect many vegans who, you know, really care about? Factory farming is atrocious, and the treatment of animals is atrocious. And it is a ecological issue as well. Yeah, totally. It's just yeah, the floss is not the first thing that comes to mind. For sure. I have I wonder if it's a big deal in the vegan community. I wonder. We just don't know about it. But we should all ask. I'll be like, what kind of floss do you use? Yeah. Oh my god. I'll tell you about the big goal date in there. Yeah. It'd be fascinating to find out non vegan floss. Well, I can tell you, I don't recommend the vegan floss. Like I said, I was pulling my teeth out. Parachute dentures out was not good. One thing I did appreciate about by is it, it's made of what's called PLA short for poly lactic acid. Okay. And they had this whole, like, very detailed blog post about what that is why it's the best choice available, but it's not great. Why it's like, debated in the environmental world. About some people hate it. Some people love it. I didn't really go too far into it. But I did really link the blog post because I found it really informative. And they were really like pretty brutally honest about it. And I appreciated that. So let's get to transparency. Yeah, yeah, totally. And so the vegan floss cost $12 As much as the toothpaste. Yeah. And that would last. I don't know if that would last you a month or longer. I can't remember exactly how much there is in it. But it's kind of expensive for floss. And the other thing I gotta lie to you, the floss I get is free from my dentist office. So well. There you go. I don't even know how much floss cost. Yeah, it's pretty cheap. Yeah. I get the like wax kind and it's pretty cheap. But one other thing I have to say. And this could have been true about the bite toothpaste bits. But the vegan floss glass jar that I mentioned, it broke to shit. Like immediately, because I dropped it because I was in the battery in a bath. You're not supposed to take any glass in your bathroom. Yeah. So I'm like this idea of having glass containers for products that you use in your bathroom is a good in theory, but it broke everywhere. And I'd even drop it from very far. I just fell in my sink sinks are hard turns on glasses. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So I found that very frustrating. While also are they using recycled glass? Are they engineering their own jars? You know? Yeah, that I don't know. I don't. I didn't I don't know. I didn't see anything about it being recycled. But yeah, it should be right. I mean, just yeah, just coming to my house and you got all my salsa jars that are piling up in my kitchen. Come take those. Someone use these? Because we're not right. Yeah, I mean, we have collections. So yeah, whole cabinets devoted to our collections. Right. Um, so I don't know, that was just another. I just found that all very interesting. Did you see they have whitening products, which I don't feel like? I can believe that they're sustainable whitening products. Yeah, the bite has whitening. Yeah, I didn't look into that at all. What might be another? Like? It's the same though. It's like a tab. It's like a chewable tab. I think it's a gel kit. Oh, it's a gel kit. I thought it was a tab. It's a vegan peroxide based formula. But that certainly feels like an extra. Like, I don't think you really need that. So yeah. Yeah, I think that is something that we might need to talk about with toothpaste is that so much of it is less about oral care, because that's not sexy. And more about, like, the cosmetic properties of Yeah, a straight whitening. I mean, that's, it's interesting that that is like, people care more about having a brightening toothpaste than they do about like, maybe the enamel wears off of your teeth, and you need to rebuild it, you know, right. You only get one set after your seven or whatever. So. Yep. You want to keep them? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so who knows? Yeah. We don't have to go off on that tangent today. Well, yeah, it's an interesting aspect of toothbrushing. Right. Well, my granola rating. Okay, so I said, I think you might disagree with me, actually. I said it's chewy. Because if this is which, okay, we should explain. Granola rating is we rate each product or system that we look at from one to five granolas. Technically zero to five. Well, you have root zero to five plastic recycling was zero. Yes. One is soggy. You don't want that five is break your tooth off, which you do want you want it weirdly, when talking about toothpaste, we don't physically want that. But in terms of our granola rating, we do. Yes. Do you want crunchy granola? Right? Yeah, so I rated it a three, which is chewy. So it's actually yeah, you would agree? Yeah. Okay, I thought you're gonna go worse than that. But I might give them a two just because I hate their website so much. But yeah, it's between 2.5. And that's, I think it's three makes sense. I mean, I like Okay, so are you are writing this? No, I mean, we probably have the same opinion. Well, I was just gonna say, because of the number of toothpaste tubes that are being thrown away. And that you really can't do it. Unless you're using Colgate, you really can't, or like some of the recyclable ones, and you actually recycle them. You can't do anything besides throw them away. Right. So I do appreciate that. They're trying to solve for that. And I think this is a more commercial friendly option than what I'm going to suggest. Okay. So, because of that, I think it's like, it's not bad. Like that's not a bad rating. It's yeah, I mean, you shouldn't feel terrible about yourself if you're buying buy toothpaste house. Yeah, but the price. Yeah, price is what leads me. I will say congratulations, I can afford. buy toothpaste tabs. Yeah, kind of Yeah. Especially because like my dentist said, you can use things you already have at home. Yep. My it's my dentist approved. So today's fit dentist. Yes. So I did find two DIY toothpaste recipes. Awesome. And I, well, I'm going to show them but first off, I I want to create a chapter in our in our podcast, where we put chapters in here. So like when you're listening, you might see it on your phone or on your screen. It has like a little subheading, that's a chapter and you can kind of like scroll between the chapters a little bit easier. Yeah, I want to create like a recipe chapter I think to make it Yeah, to make it like easier for people because my friend Julia was like, God, I love this. But you know when I'm going to make my own DIY, all purpose cleaner. I'm never going to remember what you said. So I might actually try to go back. This is not a promise. This is a hope, hope hope. I want to go back and do that. that with the rest of the episodes because I think yeah, I think it would be helpful for people. So this will be under recipe. So if you're curious, so Recipe number one, two thirds cup baking soda, one teaspoon fine sea salt, and then some filtered water. That's pretty easy. How much do you think that's going to cost? 10 cents at max. Yeah. Per serving probably a quarter of a cent. I mean, probably, honestly. Two thirds of a cup that's gonna last. I mean, if you really want to get bougie you could throw a little stevia in there and you actually i i saw some people use like mint essential oils. I'm like, yeah, no. Oh, they're not that bad. We're still upset. Yeah, she holds angst for for essential oils. Probably. Just don't inhale it. All right. Well, you're. Well, okay, wait, it's in your mouth. I don't know. I'd like to think that it tastes that good. But yeah, so there's a bunch of different options if you don't like the taste of salt and baking soda, which, what kind of weirdo doesn't like that tasted? I know. It's my favorite. That's actually what I drink before bed every night. It's your calming elixir. Lavender in there. You're set. There you go. You know, actually, Baking soda is actually good for heartburn, by the way. Yeah, I tried it. You told me that. Yeah, take it and get rid of like, could not congestion digestion issues? Yeah. And heartburn. It totally works. It tastes horrible. But it Yeah, you just got to chug it. Yeah. Nagar back. But yeah, if you if you don't have Tom's Yeah. Which also come in a plastic germs. Yeah. Just don't use Tom's it's yeah, it was amazingly useful and helpful. Because I found that was like I'm in pain. Yeah, it's what our grandfathers did after they 10 pounds of chicken wings. Drink. Yeah, all the chicken wings and just take it to me. It's not my grandfather's problem. All right, right. In Italy. You probably ran into this. They use like a deep STF basically like digestivo. But remember the name of it was that we always took but it was basically like a bitter. Yeah, liquid and yeah, yep. That's why he's crazy. I mean, that's what all of the after dinner drinks chartreuse. All those horrible ones. Yeah, they just really work. It's really wild. I think they're really good for you, too. Anyway, second recipe. This is just the recipe chapter. But Recipe number two, this would probably make it taste better. Two to three teaspoons. Baking soda. Okay, one teaspoon fine sea salt. And one quarter cup of organic coconut oil. Oh, nice. Yeah. Have you heard of oil pulling? No. It's like an old AI or Vedic, ancient Indian, I think method of teeth cleaning where you just take some coconut oil and swish around in your mouth. See, it's probably the same thing. Yeah. I mean, it's gross, though. I can't do it. Because you have to hold it in your mouth for like, a long time. Okay. Yeah, I'm not saying I would like, be super pumped, but I don't think you would need to use very much. No, I said the thing is that, like, people kept their teeth for centuries, you know, 1000s of entries before? I mean, you know, human beings haven't had domestic or mass produced toothpaste for that, right? No, totally. So I want to know when was, yeah. What was today's event? 1824 No, that wasn't that long ago. 200 years ago, almost. Yeah. But I mean, in terms of the 10,000 years of human history. Right. They added a weight. I think it was just baking soda. Basically. Right. But then striped toothpaste wasn't around until 1955. They don't sell it anymore. Do they? I don't know. Like stripe stripe toothpaste is totally old fashioned. I wonder why it went out of fashion. I don't know. I feel like some of them are maybe I'm just making that up. I do remember those ones that used to come it was like two sides. And yeah, it was like peroxide and the two that could not be could not meet until they were upon your teeth. Right. I do remember that. Actually. That was a cool reaction particularly Yeah. Probably a bunch of hooey. But Yeah, so you know, these recipes would cost you like pennies compared to so I would suggest trying them. Yeah, why not? Right? I mean, my dentist said you're okay. Yeah. Do it and then go back. And then next time I go to the dentist to be like you did this if this is your fault. He's like time and I told you fluoride was good. Yeah, I mean, he said it was better than nothing but not actually very effective at all. So yeah. Yeah. But that's it. That's I love it. Thank you. I have I do feel better about trying baking soda and salt. Good. I did too. Yeah, because I was really skeptical. I was like, Man, you can really feel like you could really scrub your teeth. But I mean, yeah. A lot of toothpaste have baking soda in a lot of toothpaste. Totally. Yeah. So I'll give it a whirl. Yeah. Yeah. So thank you for listening. Be sure to rate and review us because that's very helpful when you leave a review. So if you like what you hear, leave a five star review any wherever you listen, maybe everywhere you Listen. Yes. Whatever we have time for. Yeah. So what's coming on next week? Good question. We are going from here to next week is toilet paper versus today's. Oh, that's right. That'll be a good one. So yes, I'm excited. We're taking you from the sink to the toilet. And our trip around the bathroom. Sweet. All right. Well, I'm excited for that. Yeah. It'll be fun. If you poop. Just kidding. Yay, Barbara. Awesome. Well, thanks, Tiffany. This was very informative. Yeah, thank you for listening. Okay, bye