Sometimes on this blog I get asked some interesting questions. One of the questions that was asked of me lately was what is the best vegan toothpaste?
I’ve tried a lot of different vegan toothpastes in my time and I’ve also tried a bunch of regular toothpastes too. One of the problems with vegan toothpaste is that they are generally quite expensive. I know I’ve written about how inexpensive or how cheap it is to be a vegan diet wise but sometimes vegan toiletries are more expensive. But with that you get usually organic ingredients or mostly natural ingredients. And this is true with vegan toothpaste.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a ton of vegan toothpaste brands to choose from, but there are enough and at the end of the day, you only brush your teeth with one toothpaste at a time right… right? Well, you do if you’re like most of us, though now I’m tempted to try 2 different vegan toothpastes combined on my next brushing to see how it goes 🙂
So I’ll give you my top 3 vegan toothpastes in order of favorite to last favorite. I was going to say least favorite, but honestly, I still like it so it’s my last favorite vegan toothpaste and not least favorite.
First Place: JASON Natural PowerSmile Whitening Toothpaste
You can buy this vegan toothpaste here. Depending on sales and whether you buy it in bulk or not, JASON’s PowerSmile is one of the cheapest vegan toothpastes on the market too. I like it because it has a terrifically strong peppermint flavor that tastes natural because… well it is. They use natural peppermint oil for the flavor and you can tell. It also foams very nicely. A thick, tight foam that doesn’t dribble out of your mouth and onto your freshly dry cleaned shirt as you’re getting read for work in the morning.
This vegan toothpaste’s ingredients include natural oils as mentioned as well as perilla seed extract for helping combat the acids in sugar and such that can aid in the formation of tartar. This is a powerfully strong toothpaste that leaves your mouth feeling very fresh. Some might find it a bit too strong in the peppermint department, but I find it delicious. JASON PowerSmile vegan toothpaste also leaves out fluoride, saccharin, sodium lauryl sulfate and preservatives amongst other things for a natural toothpaste.
Second Place: Tom’s of Maine Natural Care, Antiplaque & Whitening Peppermint Toothpaste
By now you are probably aware that I am a huge fan of the mint family of flavors when it comes to my vegan toothpastes. If you want to find out more about this Tom’s of Maine vegan toothpaste you can click here. I’ve gotta say it’s really hard for me to choose between the JASON vegan toothpaste and the Tom’s of Maine toothpaste here, they’re really close. I like it because it is easier to buy in bulk than JASON’s and works out to be cheaper than JASON PowerSmile too.
However, they do use sodium lauryl sulfate though it too is fluoride free. If you aren’t that picky about fluoride and I sometimes don’t care one way or the other you can get Tom’s of Maine toothpastes with fluoride if that is your preference. Here is the complete list of ingredients for this Tom’s of Maine vegan toothpaste: Calcium Carbonate, Glycerin, Water, Xylitol, Hydrated Silica, Zinc Citrate Trihydrate, Peppermint Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Carrageenan, Sodium Bicarbonate
Of course, neither of these companies chosen test on animals. The foam with this vegan toothpaste is not quite as firm as JASON’s and the taste is not quite as strong. But if you don’t like a super sharp peppermint flavor then you’ll likely be quite happy with this toothpaste.
Third Place: Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil & Neem Toothpaste
This toothpaste is a standard in many vegan homes and many folks concerned about their health and living more organically and naturally. You can buy this vegan toothpaste here.
Neem is a popular choice in toothpastes as the neem tree has been used for centuries litreally in India where it is nicknamed the “toothbrush” tree as folks use the twigs as toothbrushes, and if you chew on a neem twig it will become fibrous and brushy like a toothbrush.
This great tasting vegan toothpaste is not as strong as JASON, rather it has a less sweet and moderate peppermint or wintergreen flavor. The foam is decent but not as thick as JASON’s but it cleans well and leaves your teeth with that what I call “slippery” clean feel to them. In fact, I can’t really tell the difference amongst these 3 top vegan toothpastes to be honest. They are all excellent at giving you that slippery clean feeling to your teeth.
Where they all fall down is in their whitening aspect. I can’t say that I’ve seen much difference in the whitening power of these vegan toothpastes even after using them for months at a time. But I think that’s a problem with even the regular whitening toothpastes.
I would be remiss in this post if I did not give a special mention to the best vegan sensitive toothpaste. This Tom’s of Maine Maximum Strength Sensitive toothpaste is one that actually works. That’s because they use the FDA approved sodium nitrate which is actually the only FDA approved ingredient for alleviate tooth sensitivity.