We are all encouraged to brush our teeth daily with a toothpaste containing fluoride. We assume that the toothpaste is safe and free from dangerous chemicals and heavy metals, such as lead, but it turns out that our assumptions are wrong.
A consumer group had independent lab analyses done of 51 toothpaste brands. They found toxic heavy metals in most toothpaste brands, even those marketed as green and pure. The presence of heavy metals such as lead was detected in 90%, arsenic in 65%, mercury in 47%, and cadmium in 35% of the toothpaste brands.
However, none of the brands tested had levels exceeding current FDA guidelines: the lead limit for fluoride free toothpaste is 10,000 ppb and 20,000 ppb for fluoride toothpastes. But Washington state recently enacted much lower lead level limits of 1000 ppb (and some brands exceeded those levels).
The toothpaste brands containing heavy metals (at varying levels) included Crest, Sensodyne, Tom's of Maine, Dr Bronner;s, Davids, and others. [Note: Arm and Hammer was not tested]. It is thought that the heavy metals (especially lead) was from ingredients added to many toothpaste brands: hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate and bentonite clay.
The work was funded by The Lead Safe Mama, LLC (LSM) team. This group has been conducting independent, community-funded, scientific testing of consumer goods since 2009. Since March 2024 they have been conducting independent laboratory testing of foods, supplement, cosmetics, and personal care items.
From The Guardian: Toothpaste widely contaminated with lead and other metals, US research finds
Toothpaste can be widely contaminated with lead and other dangerous heavy metals, new research shows.
Most of 51 brands of toothpaste tested for lead contained the dangerous heavy metal, including those for children or those marketed as green. The testing, conducted by Lead Safe Mama, also found concerning levels of highly toxic arsenic, mercury and cadmium in many brands.
About 90% of toothpastes contained lead, 65% contained arsenic, just under half contained mercury, and one-third had cadmium. Many brands contain a number of the toxins.
The highest levels detected violated the state of Washington’s limits, but not federal limits. The thresholds have been roundly criticized by public health advocates for not being protective – no level of exposure to lead is safe, the federal government has found.
“It’s unconscionable – especially in 2025,” said Tamara Rubin, Lead Safe Mama’s founder. “What’s really interesting to me is that no one thought this was a concern.”
Lead can cause cognitive damage to children, harm the kidneys and cause heart disease, among other issues. Lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic are all carcinogens.
Rubin first learned that lead-contaminated ingredients were added to toothpaste about 12 years ago while working with families that had children with high levels of the metal in their blood. The common denominator among them was a brand of toothpaste, Earthpaste, that contained lead.
Last year she detected high levels in some toothpaste using an XRF lead detection tool. The levels were high enough to raise concern, and she crowdfunded with readers to send popular brands to an independent laboratory for testing.
So far, none of the companies Lead Safe Mama checked have said they will work to get lead out of their product, Rubin said. Several sent her cease-and-desist letters, which she said she ignored, but also posted on her blog.
Some companies have defended themselves, often claiming that lead is found in trace levels throughout the environment and is impossible to avoid. Others have said the levels Rubin found are not concerning.
The federal Baby Food Safety Act of 2024, which is stalled in Congress, calls for lead limits in kids’ food of 10 ppb. California’s limit on lead in baby food is six ppb, but neither includes toothpaste. Most toothpastes exceeded those thresholds.
The FDA’s current lead limit for fluoride-free toothpastes is 10,000 ppb, and 20,000 ppb for fluoride toothpastes. None exceeded the FDA limits.
The state of Washington recently enacted a law with 1,000 ppb limits – several exceeded that and have been reported, Rubin said, but companies have time to get in compliance with the new rules.
Rubin said the contamination seems to lie in some ingredients added to toothpaste, including hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate and bentonite clay. Hydroxyapatite is extracted from cow bone and added because it allegedly helps teeth absorb calcium, though Rubin said she doubts it does. Calcium carbonate is added to help remove stains from teeth. Bentonite clay is a cleaning agent.
Those with the highest levels all had bentonite clay. Meanwhile, Rubin’s testing of hydroxyapatite and calcium carbonate as individual ingredients showed concerning levels of lead and other metals, suggesting those are the source.