Here's the deal. When Katie had cavities, my mom bought us a slew of Pooh fluoride toothpaste...the typical kids' stuff in that bubble fruit flavor. We only ever used a smear, but I was not against fluoride at the time as her teeth were rotting out of her head and I was desperate.

I want to get her off the stuff. Luckily my son (cavity free) has never touched fluoridated toothpaste. But every brand I have tried, she hates the taste. She says she wants it to be the same flavor as the fluoride toothpaste, which says "bubble fruit" on the tube. Or mint, says The Picky One, but not *strong* mint. She likes Orbitz BubbleMint so something lightly minty could work. We've tried German strawberry flavored, every Tom's of Maine you can think of (and they have SLS so I don't use them anymore anyway), and the Weleda kids' Calendula toothpaste.

Anyone know of one that has that type of particular flavor, or a light mint or fruity mint?

Thanks so much~

ooh have you tried the toms liquid toothpaste? goofy grape is the flavor and it tastes like candy, lol. liam loves it and will suck the toothbrush when we are done brushing :)
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/product.asp?dept%5Fid=400&pf%5Fid=LTP%2DGG
flouride free-- liam doesnt spit, i havent ever really taught him how (i cant figure out how ot explian spitting out toothpaste-- funny i know, lol).

anyway, maybe that will help :) not too many people know about the liquid for some reason, so I thought maybe it was something you hadnt tried :)
heather

Nope, I haven't! Thanks for the tip.

Darn, it has SLS in it. :( If I am going to switch, I am going to try to get an SLS free toothpaste...since she is so picky I don't know when we'll be able to switch again.

I *do* totally know what you mean about not being able to teach him how to spit. We are just starting to do that with Jake...by brushing together at the same time in the mirror, he will imitate, so I spit and he spits...sometimes, LOL!

whats wrong with sls?(do I want to know???)

the dentist said most kids won't spit until 5 yo...

I was wondering if you want to know, Linda. It's a PITA to find products without it - JASON toothpaste is free of it (shampoos too I think). Giovanni shampoos, um what else? Weleda's stuff. Aubrey Organics. Not sure who else. Not too many, but more all the time as people become aware of it.

From http://www.healthy-communications.com/slsmostdangerousirritant.html

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate

This inexpensive detergent is commonly used in cosmetic cleansers, hair shampoos, bath and shower gels, bubble baths, etc. - It is probably the most dangerous ingredient used in skin and hair-care products. In the cleaning industry SLS is used in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, car-wash soaps, etc. It is very corrosive and readily attacks greasy surfaces.

Sodium lauryl sulfate is used throughout the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant. Laboratories use it to irritate skin on test animals and humans so that they may then test healing agents to see how effective they are on the irritated skin.

A recent study at the University of Georgia Medical College, indicated that SLS penetrated Into the eyes as well as brain, heart, liver, etc., and showed long-term retention in the tissues. The study also indicated that SLS penetrated young children's eyes from developing properly and caused cataracts to develop In adults.

May cause hair loss by attacking the follicle. Classified as a drug in bubble baths because It eats away skin protection and causes rashes and infection to occur.

Is potentially harmful to skin and hair. Cleans by corrosion. Dries skin by stripping the protective lipids from the surface so it can't effectively regulate moisture.

Another extremely serious problem is the connection of SLS with nitrate contamination. SLS reacts with many types of ingredients used in skin products and forms nitrosomines (nitrates). Nitrates are potential cancer-causing carcinogenics.

Because of the alarming penetrating power of SLS, large amounts of these known carcinogens are absorbed through the skin into the body. A variation of SLS is SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate- SLES). It exhibits many of the same characteristics and is a higher-foaming variation of SLS.

That's a pretty good, quick summary. FWIW, I used to get ulcers in my mouth constantly - and don't since I quit using SLS toothpaste. Used to have awful acne - gone since I stopped using SLS face cleanser and shampoo. The only thing left in my house with SLS in it is Katie's darn toothpaste, LOL.

Yuck! Thanks, Lauren.

I use the Giovanni products-dd uses weleda toothpaste-but I have been using Tom's unflavoured toothpaste...I need an unflavoured one. Guess I'll use baking soda and salt until I sort it all out. I do have a tube of Jason~but it is so strong with mint-and with our Salycilate avoidance I have been avoiding it like the plague...

So glad I use Sonicare:)
pffffffffffffttttt!

Okay, this might be more trouble than it's worth, but you can make your own toothpaste with baking soda, salt and glycerine (there's a good 'recipe' here (http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/toothpaste.htm)) and then flavor it with oil based flavorings (sometimes labeled as 'lip balm oils'). I haven't tried them myself--I like lavender and spearmint that I buy locally--but Soapcrafters (http://www.soapcrafters.com/category.gc?ID=665) has a bunch of them including 'Bubble Gum' and 'Strawberry Shortcake' that your daughter might like? A sample bottle is $4 and should last a long time.

Thanks for the idea, notamos (what's your name?). That just might work. We're in the middle of a long-distance move, so I'm not at the moment feeling too terribly crafty, but once we're settled I think I will give that a try. I have warned her that when this tube is out, it's over. Of course we have never actually finished a tube because she only uses a smear, so <sigh>.

Hi MamaBear,

We use Jason's Oral Comfort, which does not have the SLS. This online source is the best that I have found for price and they are very efficient in getting their products out to you. http://www.needs.com/store/product_note.asp?prod_id=15031 (Oral Comfort Tooth Gel) Even though the flavor says "Very Berry Mint", it is really smooth and tastes like berries, with only the slightest hint of mint.

Snopes says there is nothing to the SLS claims ;) http://www.snopes.com/toxins/shampoo.htm
I do think to some people that it can be a skin irritant-- especially if their skin is very sensitive to such things, but in the quantities that we use toothpaste (and shampoo for that matter-- liams hair is washed with shampoo once ever week or two) it doesnt worry me very much.
heather

Thanks Susannah, we might try that!

Heather - I saw the snopes take on SLS. I don't think it causes cancer, which is the only "claim" they addressed. I believe it is a harmful skin irritant. Our whole family is very sensitive to chemicals so in our case, it makes sense to avoid it. Katie suffers from canker sores quite often and I feel, based on my experience with mine going away after switching toothpastes, that it is well worth getting her onto an SLS-free toothpaste.

Anyway, might not bother others, but it definitely affects us negatively. I could never use Tide or any other mainstream detergent with her either; as an infant she had a horrible burned-like rash from her cloth diapers until I switched to a natural detergent with no fragrance. We all get headaches from fragrance oils. I break out in a rash from fabric softener. We're just pretty sensitive over here.

That recipe sounds good but it's suspected that glycerine in tooth & mouth products prevents the teeth from naturally reenamalizing themselves. I know my cavity problems have improved greatly since using baking soda or water only for brushing.

as an aside... my DD is named after Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (her name is Laurel) Read it on the shampoo bottle that said "no SLS" & thought, that would be a nice name for a girl. LOL.

Chole

We use the Burts Bees children's toothpaste, no flouride, no sls. It has a light orange flavor but it's pretty light & not overpowering or gross. I've used it myself & like it, too (I'm really picky about flavors). The box usually also comes with a free toothbrush.

http://www1.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=12403&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=10001

Have you tried the Oragel Little Bear toothpaste?? Its fluoride free.
Their website is www.oragel.com

Snopes says there is nothing to the SLS claims ;) http://www.snopes.com/toxins/shampoo.htm
I do think to some people that it can be a skin irritant-- especially if their skin is very sensitive to such things, but in the quantities that we use toothpaste (and shampoo for that matter-- liams hair is washed with shampoo once ever week or two) it doesnt worry me very much.
heather

There have been several things on snopes that are health related that are not entirely true. I once asked an estatician who has her own product line about SLS. I asked her "What do you know about SLS?" First thing out of her mouth was, "It is a known carcinogen!" If she won't use it on her body and she knows what she is talking about, and won't put it in her products, then I don't want it either...

Have you tried the Weleda children's tooth gel? It's fruity.

Just wanted to second the Goofy Grape Tom's of Maine liquid toothpaste! My ds (who got addicted to my nephew's bubblegum toothpaste when we were staying with my sister), LOVES the Goofy Grape.

We got this awful bubblegum toothpaste. Of late, Annabelle has me mix it wit hthe Tom's of Main spearmint flavor. She loves it, I think it's odd.

So, what about mixing toothpastes and weening her off the fruity stuff? You might try finding a toothpaste that has no SLS or floride and then just mixing the two each brushing time until the fruity paste is all gone.

I have also been known to not be able to find an old favorite and even show Annabelle that the old fave can't be bought in the new place. It kinda gets me off the hook as the Evil Mother.