Are you feeling more motivated than ever to help protect the planet? If so, doing your part could be as easy as switching up your dental hygiene routine. For starters, by switching off the water each time you brush, you could save around 200 gallons of water a month! You can even try repurposing your old plastic toothbrush—such as using it to clean jewelry or polish appliances—rather than simply throwing it in the trash. One surefire way to make an impact, though, is to change up the products you’re using on a daily basis! Here are just a few different dental hygiene tools you can use to help save the environment while maintaining your oral health.
1. Bamboo Toothbrush
With over 7 billion people in the world, you can imagine how many of them are using plastic toothbrushes each day. Unfortunately, these dental hygiene tools cannot be recycled, which is why plastic toothbrush alternatives like bamboo toothbrushes have become such a big hit in recent years. Bamboo is great because it is sturdy, it grows quickly, and it’s biodegradable! They’re also highly effective in cleaning your teeth and protecting your gums.
2. Eco-Friendly Floss
If you’ve given your standard dental floss a closer look recently, you may have noticed that both the floss and its container are made from plastic. Single-use plastic floss picks, while convenient, are also not so great for the environment. If you’d like to reduce your plastic usage this Earth Day, you might consider buying eco-friendly dental floss! Floss does not necessarily have to be made from plastic to be effective—it can be made from biodegradable silk as well. You’ll even find floss that is sold in glass or cardboard containers to eliminate the usage of plastic completely.
3. A Water Pick
If you want to go above and beyond with your flossing routine and remove your waste entirely, consider buying a water pick! Water picks are handheld tools that you can use to shoot a high-powered stream of water between each tooth. This tool is even more effective than traditional flossing at removing plaque and debris from your teeth and gums. So you’re not just protecting the planet, you’re protecting your oral health as well!
4. Zero-Waste Mouthwash
There are eco-friendly replacements for just about anything these days! Instead of purchasing big plastic bottles of Listerine, you can now purchase zero-waste mouthwash tablets. These tablets generally come in glass containers, and all you need to do is drop a tablet in a cup of water and rinse as normal! This product is just one easy way to even further minimize your daily use of plastic.
Your dental hygiene routine wouldn’t be complete without regular visits to the dentist! To schedule your next appointment, call Manus Dental today!