How toothpaste is speeding up the spread of superbugs

Good dental hygiene is important not just for your teeth but your heart, too - but you might want to check the ingredients in the products you're using. 

For it seems an antibacterial chemical commonly added to toothpaste, including Colgate's Total range, may pose a threat to health. It is also widely used in handwashes and cosmetics. 

The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety has warned that triclosan may promote widespread bacterial resistance to antibiotics and has called for further safety studies. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration is worried about bacterial resistance, as well as evidence that the chemical is a hormone disruptor.   

Triclosan was developed almost 50 years ago and was first used as a surgical scrub. 

There is no doubt that it has potent antibacterial and antifungal properties, and in toothpaste trials it outperformed fluoride-only products in preventing plaque and gum disease. 

There is much less evidence to support its use in soaps and other products, however. 

Today, triclosan is so commonly used that the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report it is found in the urine of 75 per cent of the American population. 

The figures in the UK and Europe are likely to be similar.   Laboratory studies have shown triclosan can trigger gene mutations in bacteria, enabling them to protect themselves against it. 

 

When this happens, the bacteria release proteins which transport this new-found protection to other bacteria.  

This 'cross-resistance' has the potential to undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics and other life-saving medicines.

Colgate Total toothpaste: Contains triclosan

Studies have shown there are already bacterial mutations of E coli, salmonella and listeria, which have some degree of resistance to triclosan. Some strains of the hospital superbug MRSA have also developed low levels of triclosan resistance. 

Colgate Palmolive takes the view that the benefits of adding triclosan to its Total range outweigh the risk. 

A spokeswoman said: 'Colgate Total toothpaste is clinically proven to reduce the bacteria and plaque that can lead to gingivitis. 

'This is an important benefit because there is a significant and growing body of scientific research on the association between periodontal disease and systemic health conditions, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes. 

GlaxoSmithKline has adopted a more cautious approach, recently withdrawing triclosan from its Aquafresh, Sensodyne and Corsodyl range in response to consumer concerns.