Discovery of weird ingredient in toothpaste forces big changes

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Thanks to an alert dental hygenist, one major toothpaste manufacturer is making changes.

Proctor & Gamble, the makers of Crest, are changing one version of the popular toothpaste — one that uses plastic microbeads — according to KNXV in Phoenix.

It’s thanks to a dental hygenist named Trish Walraven, who started noticing little blue specks in her patients’ gum lines a few years ago, then heard that other hygenists had seen it too, according to KNXV.

As it turns out, the plastic used is polyethylene, which is also used in garbage containers and bullet-proof vests. And, as Walraven said, “Pretty much everyone was saying that they were using some form of Crest toothpaste.”

One dentist quoted by KNXV said that when microbeads get trapped in your gum line, they can allow more bacteria, which in turn can cause gingivitis and periodontal disease.

So Walraven wrote a blog, which was noticed by Proctor & Gamble, according to KNXV. In turn, Proctor & Gamble said they would remove the beads by early 2016.