Millions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every day, by way of a top-selling toothpaste that uses the antibacterial chemical to head off gum disease — Colgate’s Total, Bloomberg noted.
Total is safe, Colgate says, citing the rigorous FDA process that led to the toothpaste’s 1997 approval as an over-the-counter drug.
Bloomberg also said that a closer look at the application process will reveal some of the scientific findings and something about the triclosan which was not available to the public until this year.
Triclosan is used to protect and prevent gum diseases, but there is a controversy that the antibacterial chemicals are not safe.
The Bloomberg report noted that Minnesota voted in May 2014 to ban the chemical in many products.
Colgate Total Toothpaste Has Triclosan, A Cancer-Linked Ingredient — And Nobody Knew Until Now
Colgate Total was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997 as an over-the-counter drug, but some of the scientific findings in the application report were withheld from the public until recently.
The FDA application included 35 pages detailing toxicology studies on triclosan, including studies showing fetal bone malformations in mice and rats.
The FDA didn’t released the 35-page toxicology summary of Colgate Total and triclosan until early 2014, following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in 2013. After some pressing from Bloomberg News, the FDA also published the findings on its website.
“In the nearly 18 years that Colgate Total has been on the market in the U.S., there has been no signal of a safety issue from adverse-event reports,” Colgate spokesman Thomas DiPiazza told Bloomberg.
From the 35 pages long report it can be seen that at first FDA was cautious about certain Colgate claims, not only regarding the potential hazards of triclosan, but also that it can treat gingivitis — which the FDA points out isn’t self-diagnosable — and eradicate plaque.
Despite the fact that on the pages is shown bone malfunction in mice, Colagate claims it’s irrelevant. Viewed through the prism of today’s science, such malformations look more like a signal that triclosan is disrupting the endocrine system and throwing off hormonal functioning, according to the three scientists.
But there was not only the study n animals, but as well a study made on children back in 1990 to prove triclosan was safe to human exposure in small, or proper, doses:
The applicant has adequately assessed the absorption of triclosan from an exaggerated dosing scheme. The resulting exposure level is well above that recommended by the FDA carcinogenicity advisory committee.
Now the real question is should be worried or not? According to FDA triclosan is not known to be dangerous for humans. Although testing in animals doesn’t always lead to the same effects in humans, these previous animal experiments have prompted the FDA to open up further research on triclosan.
From the EPA, which conducted its own triclosan assessment in 2008:
The Agency determined that, with the exception of preservative use of triclosan in paints and stains, pesticides containing triclosan met the statutory safety standard in FIFRA, provided that risk mitigation measures as outlined in the RED were implemented, confirmatory data gaps were addressed, and label amendments were incorporated as presented in the RED document. Subsequent to the issuance of the RED, the registrant of triclosan products for use in paints and stains voluntarily requested cancellation of the registration of products for these uses.
We cannot deny the fact that we are exposed to chemicals every single day so according to scientists say that it’s not uncommon — or wrong — to second guess these common chemicals. Sometimes the testing can prove the real thing; some substances have no same effect on animal and humans. But that’s the system in our country.
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