Durable toothpaste for adults comes in countless varieties. For children, however, it is a bit more difficult. Not only is the choice limited, but it is equally important that your child likes and enjoys the toothpaste. Brushing your child's teeth is hard enough, right? Mascha did the sustainable children's toothpaste test with her test panel of three sons aged nine, seven and four. Which one do they like best?
Teeth brushing in children
A good toothbrushing ritual is so important. If it is up to children, they skip it or do it half-baked in front of a screen. But ho stop. This is not how your dentist and your mother advise it. Brushing your teeth sustainably is much more about ritual, rather than products. Although we at thegreenlist.nl naturally prefer to see both things go well. Again, what is the advice?
Teeth brushing in children is advised from the first tooth. Brush with a soft toothbrush, making gentle horizontal movements and brushing both the teeth and gums. Brushing teeth twice a day is recommended by dentists. Children from around four years old can learn to brush their teeth themselves. However, always make sure parents brush their teeth once a day. This will ensure that the teeth are properly cleaned, but it will teach them the intricacies of being able to brush themselves. And that is very important for healthy teeth now and later! Also, take children to the dentist at least once a year. That way they get used to dental visits and that way the dentist can help keep teeth healthy and clean.
What is a long-lasting children's toothpaste?
We are moving step by step towards a more sustainable life at home. We also choose as sustainable and healthy as possible for the children. We have already taken many steps in the bathroom, but sustainable toothpaste for the children proved to be quite a tricky step. Because what is a sustainable children's toothpaste and is sustainable good enough? I went in search of a sustainable children's toothpaste and paid attention to the following things.
- I want a children's toothpaste with fluoride, on the advice of dentists. I think this is very important!
- A children's toothpaste without microplastics: in more than half of toothpastes microplastics are added to keep it nice and spreadable. It is not clear whether this is also found as much in kids' toothpaste.
- The toothpaste should be vegan and cruelty-free.
- If at all possible, eco-friendly packaging is also nice.
Sustainable children's toothpaste test: which one is finest?
With the requirements for a sustainable children's toothpaste, I found only three toothpastes that are suitable. We therefore test the following sustainable children's toothpaste:
- Denttabs toothpaste tablets kids strawberry.
- The Humble natural kids toothpaste strawberry.
- Fairytabs toothpaste tablets for children soft mint.
Denttabs and Fairytabs are both toothpaste tablets. Toothpaste tablets are small pills that you have to chew first. This forms a toothpaste in your mouth, which you can use to brush your teeth. Children's toothpaste tablets (nice scrabble word) can be used for children from four years old who can chew well. The Humble toothpaste is liquid toothpaste, just like regular tubes.
The kids test a number of sustainable children's toothpaste brands, including toothpaste tablets for children.
Meet the children's toothpaste test panel
Our test panel consists of three boys aged nine, seven and four. These boys themselves brush their teeth twice a day with children's toothpaste. On the advice of dentists, I always brush their teeth once a day. This way, we make sure no spots are forgotten. These testers are used to brushing with children's toothpaste tablets.
The test team in action, we take it seriously.
1. Denttabs toothpaste tablets kids strawberry
This strawberry-flavoured children's toothpaste is made from natural ingredients. The tablets are plastic-free packed, vegan and animal-tested. In addition, this children's toothpaste has a BDIH / Cosmos label. This label has far-reaching requirements on the environmental friendliness of the product. So that's super good news! But what do the boys think? Our test panel found the strawberry flavour of the Denttabs very sweet. There is also a slightly bitter aftertaste to the tablets, which, by the way, the boys did not find otherwise distracting. They find the tablets easy to chew and they dissolve smoothly in their mouths. These Denttabs Do not foam like regular toothpaste. But teeth do feel fresh and clean afterwards according to the test panel.
2. The Humble natural children's strawberry-flavoured toothpaste
***update: this toothpaste is now on sale in a tube, fine given the conclusion!***
The Humble natural kids toothpaste is most similar to regular liquid toothpaste. The glass packaging is 100% reusable and eco-friendly. The Humble toothpaste is plastic-free. In addition, the product is vegan and not tested on animals. The Humble toothpaste comes in a glass jar. This is quite exciting in the hands of children. With the spatula, the toothpaste is trickier to apply to a toothbrush than from a tube. It is not a success for young children. Our youngest testers used too much toothpaste and made a mess. So parents will have to put the toothpaste on the toothbrush themselves. The flavour of the toothpaste is strawberry. And the taste was very nice according to our testers. The toothpaste foams nicely and brushes teeth nicely.
3. Fairytabs toothpaste tablets for children soft mint
The Fairytabs toothpaste tablets for our sprouts are a Dutch product. These makers do their utmost to make brushing teeth really fun. To that end, they even composed a toothbrush song. These Fairytabs are plastic-free. In addition, they consist of natural ingredients. Fairytabs do not contain gluten, SLS or parabens. This sustainable children's toothpaste is vegan and animal-free. Fairytabs toothpaste tablets for children soft mint are available at Fairytabs. What do the boys think of these festive tablets? The Fairytabs sustainable children's toothpaste have the flavour soft mint. This flavour did not appeal to the test panel at all. Unanimously, they found these toothpaste tablets very bitter. This bitter taste disappears during brushing. Afterwards, it brushes very nicely, according to the test panel. The Fairytabs lather well. And that does clean nicely, according to the test panel.
Which children's toothpaste is a favourite?
The test panel was unanimous in their verdict. The Humble natural kids toothpaste strawberry came out as the favourite in the sustainable kids toothpaste test. The taste was the best of the three sustainable kids toothpastes. And the test panel thought that taste was most important. So great that this toothpaste brand is also just available in a tube, because those jars aren't quite it for kids. Do you think that's a shame because you aspire to a packaging-free life? We can reassure you, packaging is a relatively minor culprit, we discovered. And if you look specifically at brushing teeth, there are other things you can do that will make a bigger difference to the planet. We've picked that too and listed it for you.
There is no arguing about (toothpaste) taste
I wish you much success and wisdom in finding the finest sustainable children's toothpaste for your offspring. First and foremost, all three brands received an ample rating from the test panel and meet all the sustainability criteria I set as a parent. By choosing one of the above brands, you will definitely be bringing in a quality sustainable choice.
More kid tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: a sustainable nursery in 7 steps.
- Also see: Sinterklaas tips for finding second-hand gifts.
- Also see: list of the cutest sustainable children's clothing brands.
- Also see: The most fun educational children's podcasts.
Photo credits: main image: Sarah Chai (Pexels), other: Mascha Bongenaar, thegreenlist.nl and the toothpaste brands mentioned. Denttabs and The Humble children's toothpaste we received from levenzonderafval.com to test. Fairytabs we bought from Pieter Pot.
