Review: Jason Healthy Mouth Tea Tree Natural Toothpaste

Written

on Dec 19, 2008

in Dental Health, Personal Care, Reviews

. Tagged as Personal, review. 9 comments

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Upon a recent trip to my local health food store for some toothpaste, I was dismayed to find that they were all sold out of the Green Beaver toothpastes. Hence I had no choice but to look for another brand that would be somewhat comparable in terms of being natural and fluoride and SLS free.

After examining numerous tubes (again), I decided upon Jason Healthy Mouth Natural Tea Tree & Cinnamon toothpaste. Jason is a company who has been making natural personal care products since 1959. They have a variety of different products and their mission involves making as natural as possible products that are still effective.

The strong point of this toothpaste is definitely the large variety of natural, beneficial and healthy plant ingredients. Overall the ingredients are very good where a truly natural product is concerned, although I still have a preference for the Green Beaver ingredients for several reasons, which will be explained below.

In terms of taste, at first this toothpaste was very unpleasant. I got used to it, but after every single brushing, right up to the finishing of the tube, I did not enjoy the bitter-like aftertaste it leaves in ones mouth. Although I generally love cinnamon, perhaps the combo of plant extracts here just does not blend well in terms of a pleasant taste.

In terms of the texture and consistency, it is way more viscous than the Green Beaver toothpastes or any commercial ones and almost like a putty paste.

In terms of foaming action, this toothpaste foams and foams a lot! That property comes from the sodium cocoyl glutamate. Sodium cocoyl glutamate is a synthetic chemical. It is similar chemically to sodium lauryl sulfate - SLS (a common unhealthy foaming agent), hence the similar properties of extreme foaming. They say on the package that children under 6 should use a pea-sized amount, but I myself was not able to use more than a pea-sized amount as this toothpaste can be very overwhelming in terms of taste and foaming in the mouth.

Finally, this toothpaste does include directions and warnings if using it for young children under 6 and another warning under 2 years old - something the Green Beaver company does not as they stand by any of their products being safe if swallowed. Hence, while it may be okay to swallow a normal single brushing dose of this product, the company advises to contact a physician or poison control center if more is swallowed.

While this toothpaste contains NO fluoride, NO sodium lauryl sulfate, NO preservatives, NO parabens, and NO animal by-products, it does not rate as an outstanding natural product compared to the Green Beaver toothpastes. This is a good toothpaste perhaps for someone who wants to go more natural and wants to make a transition from commercial to natural toothpastes (which are very different), but as for me it is a no go as I have found an excellent product in the Green Beaver toothpaste line and one which may be hard if not impossible to beat where truly natural and healthy are concerned.

Ingredients (All Plant Based Ingredients Are Italicized)

Calcium carbonate
Aqua (Purified Water)
Vegetable Glycerin
Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
Carrageenan
Aloe barbadensis Leaf Gel
Bambusa arundinacea Stem Powder
Perilla ocymoides Seed Extract
Carum petroselinum Extract
Melaleuca alternifolia Leaf Oil
Eugenia aryophyllus Oil
Cinnamomum zeylancium Bark Oil
Melia azadirachta Seed Oil
Menthol
Sodium Bicarbonate
Silica
Stevioside
Citrus grandis Seed Extract

Packaging

The toothpaste comes in a small 4.2oz or 125g tube that comes in a fully recyclable box.

Price (as of this posting)

$6 - $7 CAD each at Canadian Health Food Stores
$5.03 US each tube from Jason On-line Store

$7.40 CAD each from Drugstore.com

$4. 71 US/$5.75 CAD each tube from iHerb.com
$4.21 US each tube from Amazon.com

Availability

Health Food Stores across Canada
Online stores for US, Canada and International (see above for examples)

The Good

Made up of mostly natural, safe and healthy plant-based ingredients
Promotes healthy teeth and gums
No fluoride
No preservatives
No parabens
No colors or dyes
No SLS
No animal by-products (Vegan friendly)
Not tested on animals
Contains natural antibacterial ingredients
Leaves teeth feeling clean
Is not tested on animals

The Bad

Unpleasant taste
Overwhelming foaming action
Contains Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate

WELLNESS RATING: Very Good

8 OUT OF 10

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9 Comments, Comment or Ping

Hanlie says:

Finding a local natural toothpaste is high on my list of things to do in the New Year. Ever since I learned about the dangers of fluoride, I’m very wary of toothpaste.

Dec 19th, 2008
Evita says:

Hi Hanlie! Fantastic resolution for the New Year - indeed the warnings about fluoride are starting to come out louder and louder. While this product is “okay”, I wish you could try the Green Beaver ones! They are fabulous from every angle!

Because Green Beaver is for now a rather small company from Ontario, Canada - their products are not yet widely available internationally. (Hopefully that will change.)

Jason’s products are more widely available and I know they have many more varieties where toothpaste is concerned. Perhaps another variety would be milder on the taste and foaming? I just remember picking this one specifically for the fact that it seemed least chemical out of their other ones I think. Oh there were so many toothpaste tubes I read that day ;)

Dec 19th, 2008
Julie says:

Evita, have you tried making your own? I’ve recently realized that it’s likely the sodium laryl & laureth components of personal products that irritate my skin; in fact, my lips always peeled and I assumed it was from lipstick, but, as you state, I found it in my toothpaste, too. I remembered the old-fashioned tooth powders, so concocted my own version. To a small amount of baking soda, I simply add hydrogen peroxide, a bit of glycerin (or not), peppermint oil, and some water. It stirs into a stiff paste that puffs overnight into a kind of airy mass. I don’t measure, just play with it each time I make some. I keep it in a small jar and just dip my toothbrush. The dentist said my teeth are still in great shape, nice and clean; white, too. Since baking soda’s a mild abrasive, there’s no need to add anything for tartar control. It costs pennies to make, does a great job, and is fun to play with. You just need to get used to it being very different than commercial pastes. While I have a thumbs-up from my dentist, with your scientist’s inquisitiveness, I’d be interested in knowing what you think about it. Thanks!

Dec 19th, 2008
Evita says:

Hi Julie!

Wow - no I have not thought of making my own…what a neat idea.

As for the SLS and similar surfactants, I have eliminated them from every personal care product I now use…shampoo, toothpaste, etc. I just read too many negative things about this substance that seems to be in everything. I keep wanting to write an article on it and keep putting it off - definitely in the New Year ;)

Anyhow in terms of your home made version, the ingredients are very simple and cheap indeed and I am so tempted to say yes this is the way to go, but I just have one concern.

I actually thought about a year ago to go just with a little bit of baking soda, but was weary due to its chemical properties. When I researched it some more, the abrasive quality it possessed was definitely a no go on its own.

Now hydrogen peroxide is naturally a bleaching agent and actually used as such in many whitening toothpastes.

All the natural toothpastes use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and commercial ones use hydrogen peroxide as one of the ingredients if they are whitening ones. But again the issue is how abrasive will they be in breaking down the enamel over a long period of time?

While I know people who swear by even just gurgling with the H2O2, I am afraid the long term effects may be damaged enamel just as they were proven in the past to be for people who just brushed with baking soda.

However there is no argument that both of those ingredients are great at killing and limiting bacterial growth. My only concern is what their effect is on tooth enamel over a long period of regular use.

I am assuming that you have been using this for some time now and your dentist knows. And if based on that they gave you two thumbs up then it perhaps is not as bad as I may be thinking. Especially that concentration matters a lot and your concentration of H2O2 (I am assuming you are using 3%) with the baking soda mix is safe.

(I will ask my dentist too the next time I go, what his theory on the long term effects of this would be.)

Thanks for the great idea! It would sure make life easier and so much cheaper where toothpaste is concerned.

Dec 19th, 2008
Julie says:

I’m so glad I asked you; I knew you’d know more about this than me. :) Yes, please update me/us with your dentist’s take on this after you see him.

I’ve been using this for the better part of a year. My dentist cautioned against adding salt (something my mother suggested) because of the abrasive quality, although he did say that once a week shouldn’t be a problem, but I didn’t add it. As for the hydrogen peroxide, I can’t recall the concentration, but it’s just the household, over-the-counter kind from the drug store.

If your dentist gives you the okay, you’d just have to get used to it being very different. I love it, but my husband can’t tolerate it. Of course, I really enjoy just playing with the stuff in it’s puffy state, too! Dabbing my brush like a kid… ;)

Dec 19th, 2008
earthmother says:

Wondered why I had never heard of Green Beaver, so I Googled – Canadian, of course. Can’t get their products here in the States. :(

I’ve used Jason’s toothpastes before – PowerSmile and NutriSmile – and one of the things I loved about them is “a dab’ll do ya!” They seem very, shall we say, concentrated. I suspect that’s the foaming action you spoke of. From an economic standpoint, I liked that a tube lasted so long.

Thinking of giving Tooth Soap a try. Supposed to be the healthiest for our teeth enamel and gums.

Question: you had a link to a website a while back where one could check out the safety of personal skin care product ingredients. I thought I had bookmarked the site, but now cannot find it. Help?

Dec 22nd, 2008
Evita says:

Hi EarthMother,

The web site where you can check out the safety of personal care stuff is SKIN DEEP COSMETIC DATABASE:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

As for Green Beaver, I know they are still small (perhaps why they are so good…hopefully they never get bought out) and so not widely available but if you do not mind shipping charges of $12 to the US (or free shipping with a $149 or more order) then a wholesaler called HEALTH TO YOU carries I think all of their stuff except the baby line and they do ship to the States in about 2-5 days. I actually just put in an order for a whole bunch of things from Green Beaver last Friday and so am very excited to get a few new goodies that I will be talking about here in the New Year. Anyway here is the link, you can check it out and see if it suitable for you:
http://www.healthtoyou.ca/

Dec 22nd, 2008
Aree says:

very good info Thanks for sharing, and happy new year.

Jan 1st, 2009
lisa says:

You know, I **love** the taste of this toothpaste! In fact, it’s my downfall as I like to just put some in my mouth like a breath-mint when I’m not brushing my teeth, hence I go through a tube faster.

I also believe the warnings against swallowing are just to get around FDA regulations requiring very expensive testing to prove it is safe to swallow.

Hasn’t killed me yet! Been doing it for 5-6 years now.

Jan 10th, 2009