And that by chewing it you are ingesting a bunch of microplastics? Please confirm if this is true. I don’t want to believe.
Side question: what alternative means is there for sustained, minty fresh breath that does not involve ingesting microplastics? (Mints don’t work that great imo, the freshness wears off too fast. Gum was my go-to. Now what is left?)
I’m not a nutritionist or a food chemist so I have no idea about the micro plastics
You could make like the log lady in Twin Peaks and chew on pitch. No idea about flavor or whatever.
What’s pitch?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_base
I was today years old when I learned that talc is used as a filler in in acidic gums, so like every fruit flavor.
Hope they are paying for the asbestos free talc.
If dental hygiene/healthcare isn’t doing it or isn’t accessible, then the next best I’ve found is certain softer wood. I have some sensory issues with anything putting pressure on my gums so I need to constantly keep food remnants out and also have something of an oral fixation so having something in my mouth is calming.
Some tree branches are great for chewing on. I used to live in an area with lots of Sassafras trees and those sapling branches were great for it. They have a bit of a waxy texture that I kind of liked. I’ve heard they also have a very mild stimulant effect in the bark as well which probably helped when I would grab them when hiking, but they don’t have a scent, though you could grab some mint leaves to supplement for that.
I also tend to get some good quality toothpicks (I like bamboo ones personally though they’re sometimes not as strong for picking) and soak them in a little bit of good quality tea tree oil that’s safe for ingesting (some is only safe for external cosmetic purposes). They’re good for picking food remnants which leads to bad breath, as well as chewing and tea tree oil has a mild disinfecting effect as well as leaving breath smelling fresh. But you could also soak them in mint oils (again make sure they are not just cosmetic grade, but also culinary grade).
Those oils are strong, though, so only a little is needed, but might still be too bitter for some. A little artificial sweetener mixed in before soaking might help if the taste is bothersome. Natural sugar is probably not good, though, since it will just make cavities worse and thus make your breath worse.
It’s not natural to have minty fresh breath. It’s natural to succumb to infection and die, though, so don’t worry if that happens.
it’s mostly a type of latex, some waxes, vegetable oils, lecithin, and glycerin, terpenes, but not polymer plastics.
Sadly it indeed can include polymer plastics
In which countries?
I can’t speak for other countries, but in the U.S. companies are allowed to have plastic polymers included in their “gum base” and only have to write “gum base” on the ingredient list, so you just have to assume it’s in there.
Well, in USA that is not surprising at all. But elsewhere I would not really assume it.
it’s usually xylitol, but yes.
To my understanding yes, when the ingredients list includes “gum base”, which is a mixture of chemicals like polyethylene (plastic). I believe there are chewing gum products that don’t include “gum base” or any other plastic ingredients
Mostly, yes. Although the aspartame part is optional, it could be any other sweetener or even real sugar.
Floss daily. That’s the best way to ensure your breath isn’t bad.
But not with Oral-B “glide” floss, because it has a shocking amount of PFAS.
Awesome. So the only floss that doesn’t break between my tight teeth is bad. Figures.
God dammit. Every time I think I’m doing something right… Lol
Frankly it should be criminal for them to even put PFAS in hygiene products, it’s reasonable to assume floss is nontoxic. Apparently some recent studies have found mucilagenous fiber (like what is in oatmeal, peas, carrots, beans, and Metamucil) help your body remove PFAS, if you’re worried about potential past exposure.
Oh awesome, I love fibre. I get those fibre-boosted cereals!
There used to be organic floss in the “healthy” isle of my local grocery store. I switched to that but for some reason it’s no longer stocked (probably low sales?). Now I have to compromise with a PFAS-free variant but still plastic.
Was using that Oral-B glide shit for ages because it was so easy to floss with. Now I use a silk floss that’s objectively a worse flossing experience but I’ve adjusted to it and I’m not scraping off forever chemicals into my mouth so that’s an overall win 👍
Tongue scraper too
I’m pretty miffed I didn’t learn about tongue scrapers until well into my 20’s. Seriously overlooked.
Floss mainly pushes the bacteria further down between your teeth and causes parodontitis. Use those wee brushes instead.
What wee brushes are you talking about?
I heard that myself a couple years ago and was equally disappointed/disbelieving. I started looking for more natural plant-based alternatives, but they’re actually a plastic polymer too. If you’re out hiking and forage for spruce/pine resin directly from the source: it’s still plastic. Very surprising, not what I would have intuited.
It’s not my field so I don’t know if the plant-based stuff is the same level of harm as petroleum-based plastic, but I would imagine either way it’s breaking down into undigestible particles that you’re stuck with for life.
As far as an alternative goes for minty breath: nothing stops you from cutting out the middleman and chewing on mint leaves directly. They grow like weeds so if you get some in your garden you’ll never run out. I guess the freshness probably doesn’t last as long that way, but it makes up for itself in intensity which is just as important for a palate cleanser imo. You could probably get more mileage out of it by turning it into iced tea, then you can sip it whenever you need some freshness.
If you’re out hiking and forage for spruce/pine resin directly from the source: it’s still plastic.
There’s such a thing as naturally occurring plastic? I’m sure that’s not as bad for you though, right?
As far as an alternative goes for minty breath: nothing stops you from cutting out the middleman and chewing on mint leaves directly.
That’s an interesting idea.
There’s such a thing as naturally occurring plastic? I’m sure that’s not as bad for you though, right?
Cyanide is “natural”. Not everything natural is “good” and not everything artificial is “bad”.
Yes, I don’t disagree, but one of the main reasons why plastics are bad for you is that they don’t break down, but natural materials seem to break down just fine generally speaking
To my understanding (though admittedly I’m not like a materials scientist or anything so take this with a grain of salt), “plastic” is a somewhat fuzzy term, the things it generally refers to are artificial polymers, but there are also a lot of naturally occurring polymers used in biology, and it’s not like chemicals care if they’re made by humans or not. One could call naturally occurring polymer materials plastic, but if you did that, you would have to say that, for example, things like wood and insect shells are made of plastic, which isn’t really how people generally use that word. Naturally occurring ones are probably less likely to create “microplastic” type issues though because there has generally been enough time for stuff to evolve to break those materials down, whereas purely artificial ones are too recent for that.
Yeah, the natural stuff isn’t really what we call “plastic”, and it does break down better. The synthetic stuff is much more durable, which is the problem.
Birch tar is at least very close to plastic after it’s hardened
Mastic I guess would be the next best thing.
I tried it but it’s too hard, you cannot really chew it. Even if you make it softer it’ll get harder after a while (heh)
Well shit.
Edit: Apparently me being mad at finding this out is downvote worthy? I’m just scratching my head at this one.
People will downvote anything.
No we won’t! We don’t argue for nothing either so go ahead and jot that down!
Dang, any suggestions on plastic-free alternatives to chew on? I’ve been chewing gum the past couple weeks to work my jaw more to help my tense jaw muscles.
Another commenter on here was recommending chewing on soft wood. Of course you’d want to make sure it’s not treated first. Tree branches from certain trees would be more what they are talking about.
You can try harder foods, like a very fat loaf of non-fermented bread or sth.
And of course, you eat that instead of the other bread that you normally eat.
Nah.
Sometimes it’s basically just plastic with sorbitol.
Floss 👍
