what do we mean by "natural toothpaste"?

Our Definition of Natural

> Ingredients Sourced and Derived from Nature.

> Formulas Free of Artificial Flavors, Artificial Preservatives, Artificial Colors, and Artificial Sweeteners.

> Free From Animal Derived Ingredients (Vegan).

> Not Tested on Animals (Cruelty Free).

> Use of Sustainable Packaging.

The FDA has not defined the term “natural” and has not established a regulatory definition for this term in cosmetic labeling, so we have established these guidelines in our efforts to remain transparent in our definition of "natural".

Legacy Toothpaste brands commonly contain ingredients that many health conscious consumers are actively looking to avoid.  These legacy toothpaste products often contain artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, artificial colors,  artificial sweeteners, and other synthetic ingredients.

Instead of using a long list of artificial/synthetic ingredients, Davids uses ingredients that are Naturally Sourced and Naturally Derived.

Naturally Sourced -  Our naturally sourced ingredients are minimally processed or altered after being sourced from nature.  An example of this would be our natural mint flavoring.  The mint plant is grown on farms, then harvested and natural oils extracted through a steam distillation process.  Yes, this requires processing, but the final product is a premium natural mint oil minimally altered from how the oil is found in the mint leaves prior to processing. 

Another example of a naturally sourced ingredient is calcium carbonate, which is used as a micro abrasive to clean and polish teeth.  Our calcium carbonate is primarily made up of natural limestone mined from the earth.  Once the limestone is quarried, it is then crushed, screened, separated, milled, and pulverized. Calcium carbonate undergoes an additional process in which the limestone is further purified, so yes, processing is required, but the final product is a limestone material minimally altered from how the material is found in the earth prior to processing.

Naturally Derived -  Other ingredients found in Davids are derived from nature but have gone through more extensive processing to create a higher level of safety or efficacy and have been modified from their original state.  An example of this would be xylitol.  In order for us to avoid the use of artificial sweeteners like saccharine, we use xylitol which is made from birch trees.  The birch tree fibers undergo advanced processing which creates a final product of crystalline birch xylitol which looks like sugar (altered from its original state) but is commonly classified as a natural sweetener.   Other ingredients found in Davids that are Naturally Derived include Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) and Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate (Coconut Derived), and others.  See ingredients & purpose below for more details.

what makes Davids so good?

fluoride free - Davids is committed to using only safe ingredients to promote both personal & oral health.  We have chosen to not include fluoride in our formulation, due to health concerns surrounding this ingredient.  Every toothpaste manufacturer that includes fluoride is required to print the following warning label on their packaging:

"Keep out of reach of Children under 6 years of age.  If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away."

You wont find this warning label on Davids toothpaste, since our toothpaste is fluoride-free.

sulfate free - (no sls) - Sulfate based chemicals, most commonly sodium lauryl sulfate (sls), is a chemical used by most toothpaste companies to produce the foaming action of the toothpaste. Unfortunately, sulfates can be harmful to the environment and may also be harmful to your body.  Some people experience mouth sores from using traditional toothpaste with sulfates, because of the harshness of this chemical.  We have substituted sls with an ingredient derived from coconuts (sodium cocoyl glutamate), which is sulfate-free.

no artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors, or preservatives -  We eliminated the artificial ingredients that are found in most other toothpastes and found safe alternates.  The result is a toothpaste that is naturally sweet (not too sweet), naturally flavored, and naturally preserved.

essential oil flavoring - We developed a proprietary blend of premium essential oils from various mint growing regions around the United States.  These oils were blended together to create our custom mint flavoring that leaves incredibly fresh minty breath.  Other companies often use artificial mint flavoring or lower grade imported mint oil.  Once you try Davids toothpaste, with our custom blend of premium USA produced mint oil, you will not want to go back! (note: some of our flavor ingredients are not available/grown in the US, and have been globally sourced, however we use USA Origin ingredients whenever possible.)

not just made in usa... usa origin too (big difference) - While talking to suppliers, we discovered that many of the big toothpaste companies buy ingredients that come from overseas (mostly China, Malaysia & India), and mix them in their US factory and stamp "Made in USA" on their package.  At Davids, we take a much different approach...we do our best to use only premium ingredients that are farmed, mined, and processed in the USA....98% of our ingredients are USA Origin, supporting the sustainability of the USA economy and American jobs! 

sustainability....nature+america+you - Environmental sustainability is extremely important, but we take a more holistic approach.  Davids is focused on sustaining the environment through the packaging we use...sustaining the USA economy and American jobs by using the highest possible content of USA origin ingredients and packaging....sustaining YOU and your health, by only using naturally sourced and derived ingredients....Nature+America+You is more than what is printed on our packaging...it is reflected in our toothpaste and everything we do.

cruelty free - Davids does not do animal testing in the development of our products.  We believe all life should be valued and respected.  Davids Toothpaste is a member of Leaping Bunny (www.leapingbunny.org), which is a coalition of companies dedicated to the promotion of humane animal treatment.